Our star-crossed love
by Anayaah1611
Summary: "We're just two young people in love, doing what we think is right, fighting to be together; just the two of us against the rest of the world." RokuBeni and MayuShi. Continuation from chapter 34 of the manga. R&R!
1. Chapter One

Hello everyone! Ok so first things first.

SOUSEI NO ONMYOUJI IS SO AMAZING.

I first came across the manga while reading Tokyo Ghoul. (Yup) I just found the artwork so flowing and beautiful and the MC's weren't thickheads or worse head over heels in love. They held their grounds where required and had a goal in mind, not just pointless fighting.

Ok, I need to mention now,that all the ANIME FANS out here, you may not understand much and this might be a serious spoiler for you so unless curiosity gets the better of you, you should leave ( if you don't, you're welcome to stay, I'll give a summary of the manga up till now. Thank you for staying! ) Also, I want to mention why I wrote this story. Reason one, and probably the most important , IM TOO IMPATIENT! Waiting for a month is too much for me, in short, my imagination got the better of me. Reason two, I have many questions that haven't been answered yet. This is my try to answer all the questions I was asking myself, so I hope you get some answers too. Reason three, I love writing! Ok, without further ado, 3...2...1... let it rip! (if you get that reference, I love you ❤)

* * *

 _"The silence_ _isn't so bad, but when I look down at my hands,I feel sad,_

 _Because that's where your hands fit perfectly."_

* * *

Chapter One : Missing.

"Rokuro, get ready!It's time to leave for the regular drills!" Came the shrill feminine voice of his childhood best friend from outside his hotel room. "Yeah, gimme a minute!" Rokuro replied organising his talismans in a neat way in their holder, wearing them on his waist over his black kariginu and leaving the room.

It had been about a week since he came to the Tsuchimikado island, the land of exorcists, and things had finally settled down, or so it seemed. People still passed looks secretly, but no one bothered him most of the time, thanks to Shimon's warning glare. Even though it was quieter, one question was on the minds of everyone, adult and child alike:

'Where was the female twin star?'

Rokuro clenched his fists, remembering the last time he had seen her, fresh tears flowing down her face, replacing the dried remnants of the previous day. Her quivering voice, her red eyes, everything made him want to rip the Earth apart.

Mayura turned to look at Rokuro with worried eyes. She knew fully well what had his attention and yet, had no way to calm him down, so she simply continued to walk ahead of him, while keeping an eye on him.

Regular drills were an everyday duty of all exorcists. A set amount of exorcisms to perform were given to all of them according to their abilities and being few of the rare and best exorcists out there, Mayura, Shimon and Rokuro almost always went together, excluding the times when Shimon had work at the Union. Mayura was still untrained and hence had not yet claimed the seat of Byakko,even after being chosen. She was in the process of studying, giving her all judging by the dark circles under her eyes. In the many years they had known each other, he had never seen such dedication from her. Just where did it come from?

' _Well,_ _I need to gear up too',_ He thought to himself.

Because no matter where the person in his heart was, she would never like to see him being just dead weight.

* * *

"That's 21,22 and 23!" Screamed Rokuro, annihilating three impurities with the divine arrow, Rekku Madan.

"Heh. Still playing around with small fry, eh Enmadou?" Shimon said, destroying a C class impurity with ease.

"SHUT UP! It's all because you keep taking my share!"

"I can't help it. You're too slow.

"Now you've done it! I'll destroy more than half of yours in less than 10 minutes!"

"If that's a challenge, I'm not going to go easy on you like last time."  
""Hah! You'll be begging me to stop after a while! Mark my words you pink haired freak."  
"You're one to talk, you sharp toothed runt."

"I don't want to be called a runt by a runt!"

"Then be a little more mature , brat."

Mayura just kept staring in between them, sighing audibly, wondering why she was there in the first place.

* * *

"Oof! I'm so tired, I don't think I can move a finger", Rokuro said while letting himself fall on the large futon on the floor, his makeshift bed. "It was your fault in the first place for placing such an unreasonable and pointless !Just who are you trying to pick a fight with ?" Mayura said, hands on her hips, standing over where Rokuro lay with a reprimanding glare. She always had to mother him!

""Well it was fun!"

Mayura smiled at her musclehead of a friend and quietly shut the room as she saw his eyes close shut, him drifting of to dreamland.

* * *

" _Rokuro..._ " came a faint voice from somewhere. It called out to him with sweetly. " _Rokuro...?!_ " He heard it again. The voice was familiar, yet he couldn't place who it was. For some reason, it filled him with sadness. That voice , the way it called him out was so beautiful,almost made him fall in love with his own name. Yet why did it make him feel so utterly miserable?

"Rokuro!" This time he snapped his eyes open. "Rokuro! Wake up!" He looked in front of him. He saw a hazy figure, long Raven black locks flowing down her back, a slim waist and those beautiful legs. He knew who it was, that voice,this person... "...Benio..?" He whispered, overjoyed to be able to see her again so soon. "...You made it , Benio?" He asked softly a smile on his lips, reaching out to touch her, something he was aching to do ever since he left.

"Wake up Rokuro! It's me! Mayura!" This time, it was definitely Mayura. Rokuro opened his eyes wide and saw Mayura kneeling near him, worry overpowering her soft features.

"Oh ah, sorry. I was still dreaming..." He said, sitting up, disappointment evident in his voice. He looked around his room, noticing the clock reading 5:30 am. "5:30? We leave at 8, don't we?" Why was she waking him up this early?, he thought , perhaps she had a nightmare?

"Shimon is here. He said that he had something to discuss with you before we leave."

"Something to discuss? With me...? What have I done this time?" Rokuro mumbled under his breath. After convincing Mayura that he was alright, he grabbed his clothes and stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself after a long time. He had lost weight and he looked kind of pale. It wasn't much of a surprise to him since work here was endless. He didn't even have time to call up Ryogo and tell him about the island.

He remembered his time at Seika dormitory. The first time he came there, meeting Atsushi and Shinnosuke, meeting Jisamma, Seigen and Ryogo again...meeting **her**. He couldn't forget her even if he wanted to. Every curve of her body was etched deep into his memory,almost painfully. Every expression she had made still fresh in his mind like it was yesterday. No one had noticed the tears in her eyes when he departed for the island.

 ** _Nobody but_** ** _him ._** And he would rather no one else saw her like that.

He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed tears slide down his face. He wiped his eyes and scoffed.

At least it was proof that he still had a heart.

* * *

After washing up and getting ready,he walked out of his room to head to the main hall of the guest house where Shimon was waiting for him. He had just slipped on a red T shirt and a pair of black pants,as casual as he could be.

He looked around the main hall, searching for him and luckily he really stood out in a crowd. His pink hair for one and also the very obvious headphones, 'I don't like to socialize' being his reason for putting them on. A very Shimon-like thing to say. Rokuro pulled out a chair at the table where breakfast was being served.

"Where's Mayura ? " Rokuro asked, unable to locate the green haired girl. "She already headed be more appropriate,I asked her to. The thing I'd like to discuss isn't something I'd feel comfortable to say in her presence. " Shimon said,calmly sipping at his green tea.

Rokuro sighed, shutting his eyes for minute and then gathering up all his thoughts, looked straight at Shimon. "And? What is this 'secretive man to man conversation' you want have?" Shimon put down his cup and began to talk.

" You are aware that this island is originally home to all the largest exorcist families since the Edo period . And that includes all the families to which the twelve guardians belong, along with other noble families like the Kameyama, Nichijou, Kenji,and... the Adashino family as well."

Rokuro's heart skipped a beat.

The mention of that one family had a huge effect on him and it took Shimon a second to sense the change in the atmosphere. Rokuro clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms, an act of desperation to keep himself from exploding.

"What are you trying to get at?" Rokuro said, softly, his voice quivering ever so slightly.

Shimon took the chance and continued." The Adashino house is one of the most renowned houses of the nobles since the beginning of the onmyoudo society. They have forever served and aided the higher families and as a result have been a huge help to us. However," He paused and inhaled slowly, as if preparing himself to say the next words.

"In the past few years, they're worth in the eyes of other families has fallen are a few reasons that I'd like to explain. The first. After the death of Adashino leaders Hyuuga sama and Saki sama, the entire island was devastated. The two strongest exorcists lost their lives while exorcising a "True serpant", one level under a Basara in order to save their 8 year old daughter. That was the first fall of the Adashino family.

"The second."

"With the leaders gone and their heir being an 8 year old pair of twins, everyone began competing to be the next heir. A period of distrust ensued. It was then that their 8 years old daughter, a child prodigy as she was pronounced , stood up and claimed that she was the heir and that no matter her age, she could protect the family name far better than any one . But no matter how brilliant she was, handing over the whole family's problems to an 8 year old child was unthinkable, or so everyone thought. It didn't take her long to prove herself to everyone. Diligently taking care of everything from battle gear to water supply and managing her own studies as well, she did everything perfectly, outdoing everyone's expectations. All the other families were pleased and thought that all the dispute and period of terror had passed. But that was only on the outside." Shimon began fidgeting with the napkin.

"The members of the Adashino house did not take lightly to the insult they had received after being outdone by an 8 year old child. It was because they didn't have any other choice that they continued to live quietly under her rule.".

" The third and the last. The one that you're aware of painfully well," Shimon paused eyeing Rokuro who just sat, listening to him in pure silence. It wasn't like him to quietly listen to others. But then again, the person he was referring to was of great importance to Rokuro.

"Shimon clenched his fist and continued talking. " The betrayal of Yuuto sama, the twin brother of the current head and the son of the former heads. Yuuto sama's betrayal left a very bad impression on all the families and the Adashino family members who were looking for a reason to bring the 14 year old ,now 16 year old heir down have now found an opportunity."

"Rokuro looked up at Shimon and he stopped talking. "Why are you telling me this, Shimon? What has this story got to do with me right now? I'm aware of my goal. I have to defeat Yuuto no matter what and... she is with me on this. We decided to fight Yuuto together , so there is nothing anyone in that family can do. Neither to her, nor to me. So why are you wasting my time by telling me this?' Rokuro said, calmly looking back at the table. Shimon knew that he didn't mean what he was saying. He wouldn't be able to hear any more, anymore about her painful past and her suffering. Anymore about **her**.

But the entire ordeal and the honour of being a twin star was nothing but false glamour. All it brought was suffering and the older boy looked at Rokuro with sad eyes, not wanting to put him through this pain by choice.

"I understand your feelings, Enmadou, but you need to understand our way of living too. People like us, belonging to noble families have to prioritize our family name over our individuality. I am an Ikaruga before being Shimon and in Benio-san's case it's more so. "

Rokuro clenched the tea cup placed in front of him not a few minutes ago and nearly shattered the handle. His unruly hair covered his eyes, preventing Shimon from looking into them, and at this point Shimon wasn't too sure if he'd be able to look Rokuro in the eyes anyway.

"To Benio-san," Shimon continued "Her family is the last link she has to her parents and it's the one thing she doesn't want to lose no matter what. And right now, Enmadou, she's in a terrible situation. If what Arima-sama told me about Benio-san losing her powers is true, then if anyone on the island comes to know, it might cause a major uproar. Benio san is at a great disadvantage right now-"

CLASH!

Shimon was cut off by the tea cup in Rokuro's hand breaking into two and falling on the ground. Boiling hot tea dripped down from Rokuro's hand and the waitresses came running to his aid. But Rokuro didn't even realise his hand was burnt because all he could see was Benio's crying face, her wishing to go with him, how much hard work she had put in. It wasn't a topic he wanted to discuss with anyone else. What could burn him more than that?

"If," Rokuro started , his voice a low rumble, very evidently holding back his anger." you're here to talk about a bunch of idiots gathering together in so called 'families' and trying to bring down a child the age of their grand daughter's, I find it an utterly pointless conversation. I am well aware of her situation. I know her disadvantages like the back of my hand, but I trust her . I know she'll find a way out. I know she won't give up. So stop already. I've really had enough!" He yelled the last words out, his gaze threatening to kill anyone he laid his eyes on. Silence filled the area. Shimon coughed audibly, indicating to the people in and around to continue with their conversation and pay them no heed.

"Enmadou.I'm getting to the point now. The reason I was briefing you about this situation is because," He gulped."tomorrow you will be going to the Adashino house for a visit. " Shimon said, gesturing Rokuro to sit down since the conversation wasn't over. Rokuro opened his mouth to say something but was quickly stopped by Shimon ."Now let me talk. Arima-sama has kept you in the guest house owned by the Tsuchimikado family temporarily. When you go to the Adashino house, if they ask to keep you there, which they definitely will, you will stay there without a complaint. "

"I don't understand?! What about Mayu-" Shimon raised a hand to silence him. "Otomi Mayura, is the daughter of Amawaka Seigen san, the ninth leader of the Ritsu group. Even though she was never accepted as his daughter by the Amawaka clan, she has to go for her father's honour. Trust me she has it worse than you. " Shimon looked at Rokuro who was in deep thought.

Dear lord, what in heaven's name had Arima-sama got him into ?!

"Look Enmadou, you're not doing this for Arima-sama or me. You're doing this for Benio-san."

"Shimon..." Rokuro looked at Shimon. He wasn't used to hearing Shimon speak so softly to him.

"Or shall I say it how Arima-sama said it?" Shimon said, playing a recorded message from his phone.

'Rokuro-kun! You need to put a good impression on your future wife's family ,rigghht?'" Sang the familiar voice.

A vein popped on Rokuro's head.

THAT PERVERTED UNDERWEAR MAN!"

He was running away from the memories of her and now he was headed to the place where she was born and raised?

Exactly where was his fate taking him?

* * *

There! Chapter one done! I really hope you liked it! Don't be a silent reader , rate and review please! Thank you for your time! Ciao!


	2. Chapter Two

" _I am not what_ _you see,_

 _I am what time and effort and interaction has to unveil."_

* * *

 **Chapter Two : Closer to** **you**

No matter how much Rokuro tried to forget it, the conversation with Shimon kept playing in head again and again like a broken tape. Rokuro had never been good with families since he never had one of his own and he knew that his way of talking was a little, well..harsh.

And here he was, having to go to the house of his 'could be - would be' wife, without the said person with him. The closer he went to her past, the lonlier he felt and now he was heading straight down the road to hell. Rokuro turned to look at Mayura, who looked equally lost in her thoughts. Though there was a hint of something else on her face. **Fear.**

Rokuro had been told by Jisamma once before that since Seigen married a woman from the mainland who didn't belong to any noble family,so his marriage was never accepted by the Amawaka clan, and so they had never even seen Mayura, but they disliked her anyway. To Rokuro it all just seemed foolish. Fake families, fake relationships, fake dreams. Everyone on the island just seemed to live a life with no actual motivation. It made it hard to believe that people like Benio, Seigen and Shimon were born and raised here.

He sighed as he continued to exorcise impurities, hoping his time at the island wouldn't end in disaster .

* * *

It had been a week since Rokuro and Mayura left for the island. And in that time all you could say about the Seika Dormitory was. **Quiet.** Ryogo had often wondered if it was alright for Rokuro to leave Benio-san behind in this state. She barely ever came out and kept practicing till early morning hours. But it was all in vain. She had completely lost her spiritual powers and with everyday, she kept looking worse.

She ate less, barely ever came down and only left her room at midnight when every one was asleep. He felt like talking to her, telling her it was alright, as usual feeling like a responsible elder brother, but he knew that those weren't the words she wanted to hear. She wanted to go where Rokuro was and that was something he couldn't help with so he didn't ever tell her anything, just watched her in silence,praying she'd be fine, though he knew she was anything but.

Benio lay on the ground huffing and puffing, tired after practicing non stop for 6 hours. She rested on the floor of the gym, sweat dripping down her exhausted and malnourished body. She remembered everytime she came here before, in the middle of the night to check for an idiot and always found him sleeping on the cold hard floor, passed out from rigorous practice. She never understood how he could sleep there. The thought of it was chilling. She always felt horrible even sitting there. Memories of Rokuro passed in front of her eyes. 'Tell me, Rokuro, do you miss me too?' she asked, not expecting an answer. Oh,how weak she had become! Just his memories brought tears to her eyes. Benio curled herself on the cold hard floor,in the warm memories of a boy and shut her eyes. Maybe for this one time in her entire lifetime,the cold didn't affect her. Perhaps this once, she could fall asleep on that floor. She could sleep soundly, protected by the warmth that his memories brought to her.

* * *

Rokuro got up in the middle of the night, walking out of his room and aimlessly into the hall. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, he would have to depart for the Adashino house. He had mixed feelings. There was a thirst in him to know more about her and then a slight fear that the knowledge would only make it all worse for him.

He stood on the wooden floor that led to the central garden of the guest house , seemingly oblivious to the two people standing at a distance, looking right at him.

"He really does miss her, doesn't he?." Mayura said to Shimon, as they watched Rokuro from a distance, looking at his sad face as he looked at the red coloured flowers in front of him. It had become a kind of a ritual for Rokuro to look at those flowers every night with sad eyes and it intrigued Mayura to the point where she had to know why. And then she found out."I think we really should have waited for Adashino-san and then come together." Mayura completed her sentence.

" Missing someone is a part of loving them," Shimon said, leaning against the wall of the guest house with his eyes shut. "If you're never apart, you'll never really know how strong your love is."

"The reason he looks at those flowers so sadly, do you know?" Mayura asked Shimon, who then opened his eyes to look at Rokuro lovingly stroke one of the petals, a nostalgic look in his eyes. He didn't utter a word, waiting for her to continue. "Those flowers are called "Scarlets". There is a word in Japanese for it too. The word for scarlet girl is a name in Japanese." She said. Shimon no longer required an explanation. He didn't need to be told who's name it was. It was obvious.

The word for 'scarlet girl'. **Benio**

Morning was coming soon. The morning where Mayura and Rokuro would go to face their fears. And Shimon could only hope for the best.

* * *

Rokuro stepped out of his room. All ready for going to the Adashino family house. He wasn't supposed to take all his luggage with him for the visit, though once he was welcomed in, he'd have his luggage sent to him. But unlike him, Mayura had already taken her luggage with her,since she was going to her own father's house.

"Are the two of you ready? " Both of them turned their heads in the direction of the sound. Standing there, in his traditional clothes was Shimon. Rokuro was wearing a grey coloured hoody and black jeans. He had spent all morning wondering what he should wear but ended up deciding on a simple attire. Mayura was more formally dressed , with a white button down shirt,a black blazer and a plaid skirt. You could sense the fear emanating from the two of them. The two of them nodded, not knowing what other response to give.

"Otomi Mayura, an attendant from the Amawaka house has come to take you." Mayura gulped. "Uhh. Ok ." she looked at the worried expression on Rokuro and Shimon's faces. She quickly masked her fear, smiled and said, "Well, then. I'll be off! Take care, the two of you!" She turned around to leave.

"Mayura!" Came Shimon's voice from behind her. She turned around to look at him, visibly confused. "Can I have a minute?" He asked. She nodded and he walked towards her. She maintained eye contact with him all the while and he handed out a twice folded paper to her. She took it in her hands. "What's this? " She asked him.

He looked away from her to nowhere in particular and replied in a small voice. "If you ever need help, you can use that. Oh and... take care of yourself." Mayura opened one fold and saw digits on them. A phone number. His phone number?! She gasped. "Is this really alright? Aren't you always busy? Also giving such an important number to someone unimportant like me?"

"You're not unimportant!" Shimon snapped.

Realising what he said, he looked away from her once more, and added while scratching his neck. "You're going to be one of us soon, so might as well give it now. " He was waiting for a reply,when he felt something warm touch his cheek. His eyes widened.

Mayura smiled at the surprised boy and waved goodbye to Rokuro. With that, she got onto the car with a playful expression on her face. Shimon put his hand where her lips had made contact with his skin.

"What's with that disgusting smile?" Rokuro said from behind Shimon. Shimon jumped in surprise, unable to reply. Rokuro smirked and patted Shimon's back ,a sign of 'congratulations'.

Mayura opened the second fold on the paper when she was in the car. There was an address. The Ikaruga house address. She smiled. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad .

"Are you ready. Enmadou?" Shimon said, entering the car ready for them. Shimon would accompany Rokuro till the gate of the Adashino house and then Rokuro would have to manage on his own after that. God alone knew what was happen after that. Rokuro was quiet throughout the car ride and Shimon didn't dare say a word. When they reached, Rokuro silently got out of the car and walked towards the gate without looking behind even once.

"Rokuro!" Shimon called out to him. He stopped walking. "Behave yourself there!" A worried Shimon yelled. Rokuro waved goodbye to Shimon without turning around. Although it didn't show on his face, Shimon was so worried that if he had not been taught the 'poker face' by Seigen, he would have exploded by now . He quietly thanked Seigen and continued to the Exorcist union.

 _'God help those two._ ' he thought to himself.

* * *

It was a normal morning at Narukami prefecture in Tokyo. According to the news he saw in the morning, Ryogo was certain today would be a clear and bright day. Baaya had gone out for grocery shopping,Atsushi and Shinnosuke were lounging near the dining table and Ryogo was making fried eggs for breakfast and Benio was in her room. Just the usual.

Ryogo was just about to break the egg, when the doorbell rang. "Coming!" He said, while running to get the door.

Outside, stood a very strangely clothed man, who looked about in his early 30s. He wore a green yukata and tied his long hair in a neat bun. But the clothes weren't even the highlight. On top of his head, stuck in the bun, was a single peacock feather. Ryogo's jaw dropped. What the heck?

"Is this Seika Dormitory?" Asked the man, with authority in his voice. "Yes, it is. How may I help you?" Ryogo asked,still baffled by his appearance. The man looked at Ryogo with judgemental eyes. "Where is Benio-sama?" He asked. "She's busy right now. Do you want me to convey a message?" Ryogo asked politely. The man didn't answer. Just stood by the door staring.

"Who the heck is this? And what's with that feather?" Atsushi asked from behind. "He's looking for Benio-san." Ryogo answered. "Benio-chan? And why should we tell a creep like him? Oi you, what do you want with our Benio-chan ?" Atsushi asked.

" **Our** Benio- **chan**?"

The man's eyes turned cold. He scoffed and looked away. "I only answer to Benio-sama." He said,stubbornly not moving. There were thirty seconds of silence.

Then Ryogo spoke. "Atsushi,go and tell Benio-san someone is here for her." Atsushi grumbled all the way to the top. _Why would Ryogo-san agree to this guy's request? He_ looked suspicious from all angles.

"Benio-chan? Are you in ?" He asked while knocking. "Yes,come in." Came her voice. He opened the door to see Benio reading something. "Some strange man with a feather in his head is here to see you."He said.

He was sure she'd say no. He was sure she'd send him straight home. She shut her book and put it down. "I see. Please send him in. " Atsushi openly gaped at her. He didn't dare question her, just walked out and told Ryogo.

"Please come in. I'll take you to her room." Ryogo said politely. He didn't look around, merely followed Ryogo in silence. Ryogo led him to Benio's room and turned to leave.

"Nagitsuji-san." He heard Benio call. He stopped and turned to face her. "Yes?" He asked. "I have a favour to ask. Please do not let anyone enter this room right now. " She said. He blinked,nodded and left. _What_ _the hell ?_

About 10 minutes later, the doorbell rang again. This time, it was Baaya. She called the boys to help her put the groceries in their place.

"You know, Baaya, while you were gone,something really weird happened." Atsushi said. "A strange man with a feather in his head came to see Benio-chan."

 **CLANK!** The bowl in Baaya's hand fell to the floor. The old woman was trembling.

"...when did this happen..?" She asked, looking like she just saw a ghost. "About 10 minutes ago. He's still there right now." Just as Atsushi completed his sentence, the old woman ran up the stairs to Benio's room. She slammed the door open.

But in place of a man and a girl was a small note. She picked it up with shaky hands.

 _'I'm leaving'_ was all it said.

"What happened? Where did they go? " Asked Ryogo, searching the room. "Baaya what's going on? Who was that man?" He asked worried.

"That man, he swore his loyalty to only one person in the world and that's Benio-sama. But to think Benio-sama would require his help... what must I do..?" Saying so, the old lady crashed to the floor. "Let's look for her then! We'll surely find her. They wouldn't be very far right now!" Atsushi yelled.

"There's no way you'll be able to find him. Also,I am not worried for Benio-sama's safety. Till she's with him, she's safe. What worries me is that his coming here means she asked for his help. He maybe a brilliant person, but his methods are extreme and Benio-sama is aware of that fact. To think she still had no other choice..." She said. "How can you trust that man so much? He looks so suspicious! I was against him meeting Benio-chan too! And yet you're saying shell be safe? How can you trust that person!" Atsushi screamed in frustration. None of this made any sense.

"Because," Baaya said,sighing.

"That man, is my **son**."

There was complete silence in the room.

Today's weather, as the news said was supposed to be clear and bright. But to Ryogo, it looked anything but. To him, it looked like a large storm was brewing.

 ** _And they might just be the epicentre._**

* * *

There you go! Chapter two done! Hope you liked it! Please R&R ! Ciao!


	3. Chapter Three

Hey everyone! Firstly, I'm so sorry for the late update! Let me give you my reasons first. Recently I've been so busy with my studies that I haven't had time to even breathe! Also, I just went through a major break up from my 4 year long relationship, so, yeah. Suffice to say, things haven't been in my favour. Nevertheless, let's continue with this story!

And thank you so much for your reviews! I love y'all

* * *

 _The road to paradise,_

Passes _through hell ._

* * *

 _Chapter 3 : March forwards_

Cold breeze blew on the face of the already freezing girl. Her face had turned blue for lack of oxygen and she clung to the thin cloth covering her shoulders over her frail clothes. She was heading to the most inhabitable place on Earth-The peak of Mount Fuji- to attempt to get her powers to awaken.

The older man turned to look at the girl, his masculine features curving in concern, his hand aching to cover her small figure, something he had to consciously stop himself from doing.

She was always a strong girl, in his eyes, he who had seen her grow up into the beautiful woman she was. And he had also known something else about her. She was extremely stubborn. He turned around and kept walking up the snow capped mountain, the cold not affecting him.

Benio kept rubbing her arms in a desperate need to gain warmth. The cold was making her nauseous and she could no longer feel her feet. She could feel herself losing consciousness and falling forward. The cold snow of the mountain kissed her soft skin, it's gentleness reminding her of him.

 _Why don't you give up?_ A part of her conscience told her.

 _What is the need to fight so much?_

Her inner self was in conflict. She was in pain. She extended her hand and reached out to no one in particular, hoping for help. Someone grabbed her hand. She turned to look at her savior.

"Benio.."His voice was soft and clear. She looked up at him.

"The impurities will destroy everything I love if I leave them be. So I'll go before you," He said, the scenery they saw that day by the grave replaying in her head.

His gentle face, his soft gaze, his beautiful smile, she remembered it all like a photograph. She looked at him and smiled.

"What will you do, Benio?" He asked her.

Benio slowly opened her eyes.

"Benio-sama, if you can't continue forward, we can rest." said the older man, crouching to where the young girl was fallen, rubbing her palms softly. Benio put her hands on the snow covered ground and hoisted herself off to stand on her feet.

"No.I can't stop here." she replied. "After all, I promised him." She softly touched the bellflower hair clips in her hair that she refused to take off no matter what. She knew it would give her strength.

 _Still as stubborn as ever_ , the man thought to himself, smiling, continuing his journey upwards behind her.

 _'What will you do, Benio?'_ His voice echoed in her mind.

 _'I will do everything I can to get my powers back and then I will follow you.'_ She answered in her mind.

 _'So wait for me.'_

* * *

"It will be impossible for a normal human to climb any higher than this without equipment." said the man after 15 or so more minutes of climbing.

"So, I have to surpass my human limits to get back my abilities?" Benio asked, still shivering, no sun in sight.

"In a way, yes. But that is merely the beginning. Firstly, I cannot guarantee that this will work. There might be a chance of-" But the man was cut off by Benio turning to face him, her eyes ablaze.

"I trust you will lead me to success." she said, looking at the man. He simply bowed his head to her, in respect and she tried her hardest to smile at him. She held his hand and looked him in the eyes.

 _I trust you, Suiren._

* * *

 _"His name is Suiren." Baaya said, sitting on the dinner table, next to all the confused members of Seika Dormitory. Jisamma and Seigen had returned from the business they had to deal with and had been informed about the situation the minute they returned. Ofcourse, the worried men demanded an explanation from the only person in the room who knew what was going on._

 _The story she was about to narrate was a tale from a long time ago, a tale she could never forget._

 _"This story begins when Benio-sama was five years old..."_

* * *

"Saki-sama.. there is someone here to see you." an attendant said, to the young woman who was fixing her yukata. "Yes, I'll attend to them in a minute."

 _With one last look, she turned away from the mirror and to her husband who was sitting, holding their five year old pair of twins._

 _"Come on Hyuuga-kun, we have work to do." Saying so, the husband and wife left their children under the care of the maids to go work._

 _When Saki and Hyuuga, the Adashino heads entered the main hall, there was a fairly old woman , sitting and crying. Saki put her hand around the old woman and rubbed her back. The woman looked up and gasped. She moved away and crouched on the floor, afraid of having been disrespectful._

 _"Please forgive me for my behavior.I have a favour to ask of you." she said, wiping her tears on the sleeve of her yukata. "Please go ahead." said Hyuuga, sitting down in front of her._

 _"My name is Kinu. I am from a small family that runs a shop of exorcist equipment. I am here today to ask you for help for a personal matter."_

Hyuuga and Saki nodded at her, urging her to go on. "My son, has some contracted some kind of illness. I am afraid to take him to the doctors to hear the worst. I have heard that you have helped many people heal. Can you please take a look at my son? " She held back her tears and sniffed. Saki turned to her husband who slowly began to stand up. "We'll do our best to help you." Saki said. She knew her husband was a man of few words and she had learned to read his actions over the years. The old lady fell to the floor and cried her eyes out. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

With one look at the man, Saki and Hyuuga knew that there was no helping him. He was already beyond their scope. The area under his eyes had turned a dark purple and his skin was pale. He looked like a bundle of bones. They turned to look at the old woman who was looking at them expectantly.

"We're very sorry." They said, unable to look her in the eyes. "This is beyond us."

She held the pillar near her for support. What would she do with her son? He was her life, how would she survive with him gone?

Just then,from outside they heard a lot of disturbance. "Little miss! Not there!" came the voice of an attendant that Saki recognized. It was the woman assigned to take care of the twins! Saki raced out to see her little child run into the room. Five year old Benio looked at the man laying on the floor. She didn't speak or move. Hyuuga headed to where his daughter was standing. He didn't want her to see something so tragic at this age, but before he could do anything, she picked up a nearby glass and broke it on the floor.

"Benio!" screamed Saki, horrified at her child's behavior. Benio didn't answer, just moved to where to man lay with a piece of broken glass in her hand. Everyone in the room stood still, unable to approach the seemed as if she was possessed.

Benio sat near the sleeping man and ran the sharp edge of the glass piece over her finger. Blood began gushing out of the small wound. Without blinking her eyes, she moved her fingers on the man's bare shoulder in a particular motion. When she stopped, Saki gasped. She had drawn a Seiman (Star/Pentagon)

"Benio! Do you have any idea what you have done? Making a dead man your shikigami?" she exclaimed.

"A dead man?" said Kinu, her hands on her mouth.

"Your son was dead since before we entered this room. There is no saving him." said Hyuuga softly.

"He isn't dead," said Benio simply.

"He is clinging on to the last of his life." Everyone was stunned into silence. How did this child know?

"Even if that were true, you cannot make a grown man your shikigami! Making another person a shikigami is not possible for adults, let alone children! Shikigamis are a manifestation of an exorcists powers. Unless you have an insane amount of power, you cannot have a powerful shikigami. What do you think you were doing?!" she said, shaking Benio's shoulders.

Just then, from behind them, a bright light shone. They looked at the floor where the man was a few minutes ago, which was now replaced by the beam of light. When the light had ceased to shine, a man stepped out of it. The woman gasped and ran to the man.

"Suiren?!" she exclaimed. "Yes, Mother?" He asked, smiling at her. Tears fell down her eyes. The son she thought was no more was now smiling at her. The man looked down at the five year old child . He bowed down to her. "You saved my life," he said. "But how did you know I was alive when everyone thought I was dead?"

"I heard your voice." Benio answered smiling at the man. "You were calling for help. I heard you."

Saki and Hyuuga could only stare in amazement. Their very own child had saved a human life and had made a soul contract with a human. They had never imagined such a day would come when they would question the identity of their own child.

* * *

"Wow... Benio-chan was always amazing, wasn't she?" Atsushi said, his hands resting on the table. "What happened after that?" Ryogo asked the old lady who was lost in her memories. "What was supposed to happen? My son, who had never worked a day for anyone except himself promised to serve nobody but her. And I, who had to repay the favor done to me, started working at the Adashino house. Suiren never stepped out of the shadows unless he was called by Benio-sama. He continued to better himself as a shikigami and an exorcist. And he devised methods for everything if ever Benio-sama were to be in trouble, but they were all too extreme and Benio-sama knew so she never asked for his help..."

"Till today." Seigen completed, putting down his cup of coffee. "Exactly." Baaya said, looking displeased.

"Well, this decision of taking his help or not depends on the Adashino girl. None of us have any right to stop her from doing whatever she wants. If she's willing to take this risk, then just pray for her 's all." Seigen said, getting up and leaving.

Baaya could only hope he was right.

* * *

Rokuro walked through the main gate of the Adashino house. There were long rows of flowers till eyes could reach. He walked next to them, a calm breeze blowing around him.

The _calm before the storm,_ Rokuro thought to himself.

Just when he was about to bend down a touch a flower, he heard footsteps coming his way. In front of Rokuro was a tall bald man, with a katana in hand and dressed in a yukata. He looked fairly old. "Who are you?" He asked Rokuro.

"I was invited here to the Adashino house. I'm-" But Rokuro was given no chance to introduce himself. "This is no guesthouse. We have enough problems to deal with already. We don't need strangers to come and mess it up even more." said the man, three other men stepping in from behind him.

Rokuro took a defensive stance as the men readied their katanas. _I'm sorry Shimon_ , Rokuro said in his head. _Doesn't look like I can behave._

"My my, when was this the way to welcome guests in the Adashino household ?" came a voice from behind. Out of the shadows , a man stepped out. He looked majestic.

He had bluish green eyes and dusty blonde long hair that was tied into a small ponytail resting on his shoulder. He wore a purple yukata and walked with his hands in the opposite sleeves, the typical traditional way. The men moved out of the way when they looked at him. Rokuro was confused. Who was this person?

The person in question turned to look at Rokuro. He walked towards where he was standing and smiled gently. "You're Enmadou Rokuro-sama aren't you?"

 _Sama?_ Rokuro simple nodded his head, unable to word out a reply. "Forgive me for this horrible behavior but as you know, we are in a bad state right now. Pay no heed to this matter. Follow me." He said.

"Thank you, umm.." Rokuro said, wondering what to call him. He hadn't said his name. The man turned around , realising and said, "Just call me Raijin. I am Benio-sama's guardian and the substitute leader of the family till she is gone. There is no one you could trust more than me here ." He said, noticing the distrust in Rokuro's eyes. "That just makes me doubt you more.." Rokuro said. He chuckled.

"I suppose so. Well, then, will this make it more believable?" saying so, the man pushed behind the hair resting on his shoulder. There,on his neck, was a seiman.

"You're her shikigami?" Rokuro asked, confused. "Well, no, not exactly. This symbol was definitely made by Benio-sama. It is to keep my real form suppressed." He replied. "Your real form?" Rokuro asked, stopping. "Yes," he said, facing Rokuro." I'm a youkai (japanese demons/spirits)." Rokuro stood their gaping. _A youkai?_

 _He chuckled once again. "You don't have to digest so much information in one day. We'll take it slowly."_

Rokuro didn't say a word and just continued to follow the man in absolute silence. He would probably go crazy if he found out anything more.

* * *

They walked into through the smaller gate, entering the main house. There in front of Rokuro was a giant mansion. Typical Japanese ancient style house made of wood with detailed architecture. The main hall branched out , radiating in five different directions, all terminating at different rooms.

Beautiful _,_ was all that came to Rokuro's mind.

They walked towards the main hall, following the wooden ledge that led to it, underneath which was a body of water.

No _wonder Benio was so spoilt at first,_ Rokuro thought to himself giggling. They walked past a few rooms to the East of the house, but one caught his attention in particular.

Talismans arranged neatly in cupboards, a futon put perfectly on the tatami matted floor. A tiny table to the edge with a number of scrolls placed near them. It felt familiar.

"You do know her well, don't you?" Raijin said smiling. "That used to be Benio-sama's room. I've kept it exactly how it was to keep the feeling of her existence in this house intact."

Everything was so neat. _Typical Benio_.

"Take a seat." Raijin said as they walked into the main hall. "Leave us alone. " He ordered all the maids to leave. Sitting down opposite to Rokuro, he poured tea into their cups. "So, can you please brief me regarding this whole ordeal? What is the situation?"

Rokuro narrated how much ever he knew. Raijin listened carefully, tea in hand. "I see. Benio-sama has lost her powers" Rokuro nodded his head, reliving those moments." Don't worry, she has help. " Raijin said, standing up from his position and looking out of the window.

"Rokuro-kun, I only have one request. Please don't mention anything about Benio-sama's problem to anyone. No matter how they look, everyone here only wishes evil for her. I maybe a substitute, but I can't control them because I'm not a member of this family. " Rokuro stood up and put his hand on Raijin's shoulder.

"I won't mention it at all. Trust me, I'm the last person who'd want her to go through any more pain." Raijin smiled at the boy.

"You really love her, don't you?" He said , looking at the boy in front of him.

Rokuro smiled sadly. He had known for a very long time in the depth of his heart, but he had never felt the need to vocalize it. He could see her in everything he did. Every memory he had for the past two years was with her by his maybe the final parting kiss she had given him, the one she referred to as a charm, actually did work.

"Yeah," he said, remembering her smile that day. "I really do ."

* * *

There you go! Chapter three! I'm sorry for the lack of romance, but I really needed to introduce these two important characters! I hope I didn't bore you! Next chapter will have a little more insight into Benio's childhood, and some serious MayuShi romance! Thank you for reading! I love y'all ❤


	4. Chapter Four

Hola amigos! This is much earlier than I thought I would post, but I just wanted to put MayuShi out there! It's one of the cutest couples I feel that has not been done justice to. And in the current scenario of my story, Rokuro and Benio are far apart, so let's concentrate on the one's that are closer , shall we? Oh, but don't worry, a ton of RokuBeni romance is on the way! Can't wait to write it!

Thank you for your reviews, they make my day! (P.S I love reading them SO MUCH.) I love y'all ❤

* * *

 _I cannot let you burn me up,_

 _Nor can I resist you._

 _No mere human can stand amidst a fire,_

 _and not be consumed._

* * *

 _Chapter four : **Reaching out**_

 _Rokuro_ sat in his room, alone for the first time since that morning. He was given a room to the west of the house, very close to the training room, just like he had requested. Whenever Rokuro couldn't sleep, he would not waste time and begin training until he'd fall asleep there, a habit that Shimon , Mayura and Benio found absolutely stupid.

The room he was given was pretty spacious, something he really wasn't used to. He was going to the main hall to to collect his change of clothes and head to the bath . The bath, as he was told, was absolutely amazing and he couldn't be happier, after the excuse of a shower in the guesthouse.

Rokuro walked out of his room, remembering the directions to the main hall. From the corner of his eyes, he could feel something moving behind him. He felt a presence around him. He was being followed. After about 10 more steps, Rokuro began to walk slowly, paying attention to the stalker. He suddenly stopped walking and turned around. Little steps shuffled and the stalker hid behind a wall. Rokuro continued walking, a vein popping on his forehead. He reached the main hall and was greeted by Raijin .

"What's the matter? Why do you look so annoyed? Is something not suiting your taste?" He asked, concerned.

"Raijin," Rokuro said, stopping to collect himself.

"I know I'm really hated in this house right now, but," he paused and pointed at the wall behind him, moving out of the way for Raijin to look at what he was pointing.

" **Why** **am I being stalked by a bunch of kids?!"**

Raijin walked to where Rokuro was pointing and sure enough, six children where trying to hide their faces.

" For heaven's sake! " Raijin exclaimed. "Why are you lot disturbing our guest? Aren't you supposed to be taking classes ?"

They looked at Rokuro one last time and scurried away.

Rokuro sighed. This house just kept getting weirder and weirder. "Please don't feel violated. They are probably just surprised to see an outsider in the house. Since Hyuuga-sama and Saki-sama's demise, barely anyone from outside comes here." Raijin said in a sad voice. Rokuro just nodded his head, took the clothes and left.

* * *

 _Nothing beats_ _soaking in a warm bath,_ Rokuro thought to himself. Surely here he was at peace.

"Did you see him?"

"Yeah! Who do you think he is?"

" Benio anee-sama's (respectful way of calling an elder sister) friend?"

"Don't be silly. She doesn't have friends."

Rokuro listened to the conversation in silence. They were the same children who were following him, he could tell.

"Can you be any louder?" Rokuro yelled sarcastically letting them know of his presence. They gasped and shut up . There was silence for a few seconds. Rokuro sighed.

"There's no reason for you to be afraid of me. If you have something to ask, ask me directly. Don't sneak up behind me, that's just creepy." He said.

There was silence again. After a few seconds, tiny figures appeared in front of him. They all looked really apologetic.

"We're sorry. We didn't mean anything bad , I swear!" said one of them, a boy with brown hair.

"Yeah, Tatsuya is right! We only wanted to know who you were!" a girl with light green hair said , stepping out from behind the boy. "We're really sorry!" They all said together,bowing down.

Rokuro , who had been controlling himself, after looking at the serious look on the children's faces, burst out into fits of laughter. They stared in awe as he held his stomach and laughed to his hearts content.

"Oh my God. This was hilarious!" Rokuro said,still laughing. "Umm," A boy with glasses stepped forward.

"Who are you to Benio-sama?"

"Hmm, let see.." Rokuro had never really asked Benio what she thought of him. A friend or more?

She _would_ _probably refer to me as an annoyance,_ he thought to himself. Breaking out from his thoughts, he looked at the eager faces of the children.

"We're best friends, I guess?"

There was a moment of silence.

Rokuro began to wonder if he had said something wrong. "A-anee-sama has a friend..?" Said one of the girls,her eyes as wide as the Sun.

"Ofcourse she does! Mayura, Shimon,Sayo-chan... I guess Ryogo,Acchan and Shinchan would also count right?" Rokuro said. The children just kept staring at Rokuro.

"He maybe a liar.." said one girl to the other, audible enough for anyone to hear.

"Yeah, yeah, we shouldn't ask him, he maybe insane." Said the other.

Several veins popped on Rokuro's head. He was getting more annoyed by the minute.

"I can hear you, you know..." He said and the two girls hid behind the boys.

"..Umm..what kind of person is Anee-sama?"

The question was hanging in the air.

"You-" Rokuro stopped to inhale sharply.

"You've never spoken to her?"

The children just looked embarrased at his question.

"We were mever allowed to. We were always told that she was 'busy' and had no 'time to waste playing with kids'." Rokuro listened in silence.

"And they also said that we shouldn't try to get close to her because she doesn't like it." said another.

"They also said that we only need to study hard and beat her so we can take her position!"

Rokuro scoffed. _The adults here sure are rotten people_ _._

"Benio," Rokuro started, closing his eyes, her image floating in his mind.

"Is a brave and extremely stubborn girl." He said. All the kids nodded. "She's strong and reliable and elegant and beautiful." They all listened to him knowing this is what they would hear. "But," Rokuro said,opening his eyes .

"She's a terrible cook." The kids looked at him in surprise. "Also, she can't do any house work. She's also socially awkward and doesn't talk much. She wears only one thing for days together and eats only one thing." They giggled.

"What does she eat?" One of them asked. Rokuro laughed. They really didn't know her. Anyone who had been with Benio for a day would know her favorite food.

"Ohagi." Rokuro said.

"She totally obsesses over it. She even wrote a manga about it!" The kids began laughing.

"She sounds so...normal." Said one of the girls.

"That, she is not. I wouldn't say Benio is a normal girl, but," Rokuro paused putting his hands on one child's shoulder. "I can imagine her sitting in her room, watching you play outside and hope that she could play too. For a child to have to work all day is third degree torture." The children looked sad.

They had never thought that their Anee-sama was suffering.

"When Anee-sama comes back, we'll apologize to her too, ok? " Said the boy named Tatsuya. "Yeah. We always thought it was her fault we had to study so hard and were forced to become exorcists. " Said a boy with glasses.

"Yeah! And we'll surprise her with ohagi too!" Said a little girl with black hair and blue eyes. Rokuro smiled at them.

He could never fathom that Benio had such a terrible childhood. Never playing, never leaving her room,always training. Compared to his, where all he did was annoy Seigen and Jisamma, hers was so much worse. He thought he knew everything about her, but coming here made him realise he was far from it. Little by little, he was getting to know the side of Benio that he had never seen for himself.

Rokuro took his towel and wrapped it collectively around the six children. Their wet bodies shivered. "For now, let's get out of the bath before we all catch a cold." They got out of the bath. After changing, Rokuro said to the children, "We can continue talking outside."

All of the kids became silent.

"We can't." They said, sadly.

Rokuro raised an eyebrow in question. "Why ever not?" He asked. They all looked at each other.

"We were told by our parents to not talk to you. They said, an outsider only comes to ruin the family. And they said that you were friends with... Yuuto-nii sama too. " Said one of them and they all nodded.

"Do you still want to talk to me?" He asked, looking down at them. All the kids nodded their heads furiously in sync. He chuckled.

"Then how about we do this? Whenever you want to talk to me, come to the training room in the west wing. I'll always be there. Let that be our secret meeting place. Ok?"

All the kids looked happy." Thank you, Oni-sama!" They yelled out in unison. "Just Oni-san is fine." Rokuro wasn't used to so much respect, but now, he knew exactly how his days would pass.

Day after day, the kids came at odd hours to meet Rokuro. They sneaked out of their rooms and carefully ran to the training room to meet the older boy, who would welcome them and tell them stories that they loved to hear. The began to warm up to Rokuro, who had always been good with kids, since he was a kid at heart himself.

Raijin stood outside the training room, smiling to himself.

I'm _glad he came here. He is probably the_ _only person who can fix these broken relationships,_ he thought , listening to the excited children laugh. He walked away, into the moonlit night.

 _I'm counting on you, Enmad_ _ou Rokuro-kun._

* * *

A week had passed since Rokuro and Mayura had left for their respective homes. All this while, Shimon had been terribly busy with the union, due to meetings related to the twin stars.

"How is the twin star boy ? Is he able to manage his life here?" Asked Zeze Miku, one of the twelve guardians. "I heard he's holding up at the Adashino house. I can't fathom what he's dealing with." Answered Mitosaka Kankuro, Seirryu of the twelve guardians. "Isn't it more difficult for Seigen's girl? She's at the Amawaka house right now." Said Arata. Shimon stiffened at the mention of her name. Truth be told, Shimon could not stop worrying about her.

Everybody knew how much she was hated by the Amawaka clan, which was part of the reason why Seigen didn't train her to be an exorcist as a child. But after being chosen by Byakko, there wasn't much of a choice for him but to let her go. All Shimon could do was pray.

* * *

That night, Shimon was sitting and organising his talismans in his room at the Ikaruga house, when his phone began to ring.

An _unknown number?_ He answered the call. "Hello?" He said. There was no reply. Five or so seconds later, the call was cut. _What the_ _heck?_

 _He_ went out into the yard for training. He always liked the cool breeze while meditating.

After a few seconds of silence, suddenly he heard one of the guards by the gate yell,

"Oh my God! Miss, are you okay?!"

Shimon rushed out to the gate , only to see a few guards standing and staring at someone. And after a second, he realised why.

Shimon stood by the gate, staring at the site in front of him. There was a girl standing.

"Mayura..." he whispered. He took in her appearance. She looked like she hadn't slept in days going by the giant bags under her eyes. Her clothes were torn, and the parts of her body peeking out from under the tattered clothes were bruised. She had no shoes on her feet and only had one thing in her hand.

A phone.

Shimon had realised. That blank phone call was from her. She looked expressionless. As Shimon was watching her, she began to wobble. Without realising it, Mayura began to fall forwards. Shimon ran to where she was standing, catching her before she touched the ground. He lifted the unconscious girl and took her into his room. The guards didn't dare say a word after looking at their young master's grim expression.

Shimon placed Mayura on his futon and sat next to her. She looked awful. What nightmare she had lived in the Amawaka house, he couldn't even imagine. As he touched her shoulder wound, Mayura woke up.

"NO **!** Stay away from me!" She screamed pushing Shimon away. "Don't touch me!" Shimon could only stare at her,astounded at her reaction.

The girl had suffered serious trauma.

"Mayura.." he whispered softly, reaching out to her. She slapped his hand away. "No! No! Don't touch me! Don't hurt me!"

 **"MAYURA!"** Shimon yelled, jerking the screaming girl by her shoulders. She stopped screaming. She looked up at him and in a soft voice, extending her hands towards him, she said , "...Shimon..?" Her eyes , brimming with tears.

Shimon couldn't take it anymore.

He pulled the crying girl to his chest, wrapping his arms around her trembling body. She put her hands on his chest, bunching up his shirt, letting her tears fall and he ran his hands up and down her back in a soothing motion. After a few minutes, her cries died down. Shimon laid her down on the futon softly.

"You should rest here." He said, turning to leave. Mayura's hand darted out to reach for his. He turned to look at her.

"Please don't go. I'm scared.." she said, tears still in her eyes. The room was dark, with the moon as the only source of light, so Mayura failed to notice Shimon's pained expression.

Shimon laid down next to Mayura and pulled her to him.

Just when Mayura was about to shut her eyes, she felt Shimon's hands touch her bruised shoulders.

"Pain pain, go away.." she heard him whisper.

Shimon had no clue how to soothe a crying girl. The only person he had ever consoled was Chiiko when she was small and this had often made her stop. Mayura wrapped her arms tightly around Shimon's body, telling him that she felt better. She smiled softly, for the first time after a week.

Shimon didn't know the consequences of what he was going to do, but he knew he had no regrets. If there was one thing he knew clearly, it was that he wouldn't let her suffer anymore.

Tomorrow, first thing in the morning. He would talk to his uncle, the head of the Ikaruga clan and request him to let Mayura stay here. Tomorrow, he'd go to the Amawaka house to collect her luggage and he'd never let her go there again. She had been through enough and he didn't care how many people would be against this.

At that moment, to Shimon, all that mattered was the girl sleeping soundly in his arms, after spending many torturous nights.

 _'Is this how you felt, Enmadou?'_ Shimin thought to himself.

He pushed the hair covering her forehead behind and planted a soft kiss there.

"I'll protect you." He whispered in her ears, before looking at her one last time and shutting his eyes.

In the darkness of the night, he did not see the smiling face of the girl. _'Thank you Shimon.'_ she said in her mind, before snuggling closer to him and drifting off to sleep.

Outside his room, Sayo stood, looking at her brother who hadn't slept for all these nights in smiled at them from outside shutting the door and leaving. She had been coming every night to sleep with him, to get him to rest, but nothing helped. And now here he was, sleeping like the dead.

Good _for_ _you, nii nii-sama, good for you_.

* * *

I really hope you liked it! Thank you for reading! ❤


	5. Chapter five

Hola!

So,as I've been pointed out by a fellow author and friend, Nualie and after reading the raws of chapters 35,36, and 37 myself, I've realised one thing. I am not completely canon compliant. And let me give you the reasons why.

1) I began writing this fic before these chapters came out, which I have already mentioned in the summary of my story ( continuation from chapter 34.)

2) Unlike the manga, which is shounen, this story concentrates more on character development and romance, with less fight scenes,which by the way, doesn't mean there aren't going to be any fight scenes in this story. There will definitely be one. So, I have to shape my story according to the romance (because that's what everyone wants.)

3) I'm not as brilliant as Sukeno-sensei (mangaka of Sousei no onmyouji) , nor will I ever be able to match up to his caliber. But, this story is my interpretation of what would have happened if Rokuro went to the Adashino house, which was very obviously in trouble.

Now, I won't spoil it for those who are still waiting patiently for the translations (something I can absolutely not do.) I'm sorry if you were disappointed with my version.

Having said that, let me throw in a disclaimer here.

Disclaimer : Sousei no onmyouji/Twin star exorcists belongs to "The great" Sukeno Yoshiaki-sensei. I'm merely borrowing his characters due to my over driven imagination (lol).

Also, I'm sorry this chapter is a little long. Anyway, thank you for reading, don't forget to review! I love y'all ❤

Now then, let's get started!

* * *

 _Determination gives you the resolve to_ _keep going inspite_ _of the roadblock that lies before you._

* * *

 **Chapter 5 : My resolve**

The following morning, when Mayura awoke, she was alone in the giant room. Mayura sat up straight, stretching her arms in the air, but something was constricting it. Mayura felt her shoulder. The bruises she had received in the entire week were bandaged perfectly. She looked down at her clothes. She was dressed in a plain white yukata, not the casual wear that she had come in.

Mayura blushed in realization. Had Shimon...?

"It wasn't him. You don't have to be worried." Came a voice from near the door. There, leaning against the frame of the door, was Shimon's beloved younger sister.

"Sayo-chan!" Mayura exclaimed. She hadn't seen the girl even once since she arrived at the island. Sayo smiled, sitting down next to Mayura.

"I got the maids to bandage your wounds and change your clothes. You were so tired, you didn't even wake up!" Mayura was embarrassed.

"Thank you Sayo-chan. I'm sorry for the being a nuisance."

"You shouldn't be thanking me. Nii nii-sama came to me in the morning and told me to take care of you. "Sayo said, asking the maid to come in with a cup of tea. Mayura blushed, the event of the earlier night flashing in her mind.

Sayo giggled, looking at Mayura's expression. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." This embarrassed Mayura all the more. His little sister had seen it all too!

Sayo handed the cup of tea that the maid had poured over carefully to Mayura. Mayura uttered a small 'thank you ' before putting the small cup full of warm liquid to her lips. She visibly relaxed.

Ah, hot tea felt so nice.

"So, where is Shimo- I mean, your brother?" Mayura said, resting the cup of tea on her lap. Sayo grinned. "You can call him by his name, you know." Mayura blushed and looked away. "He left early in the morning today for the exorcist union after having a word with father. " Sayo said, getting up and walking to the window in the room.

Work again? He sure was busy.

"I haven't seen Nii nii-sama this angry in a while." Sayo said looking outside. Mayura eyed the little girl. Shimon had made her aware of Sayo's condition once before. She carried a large burden on her tiny shoulders, one that Mayura couldn't even imagine carrying, yet she smiled. Mayura envied Sayo's strength. She wished she could be that strong too, yet all she was, was a burden on the people she cared about. Mayura clenched the tea cup in her hands, the heat transferring to her cold hands.

"You're very important to him, you know? " Sayo said, turning around to look Mayura in the eyes.

 _Me? Important to him?_ She thought to herself.

Sayo laughed at Mayura's surprised expression. "Nii nii-sama had been really worried about you. He could barely catch any sleep! Maybe your coming here put his mind at ease."

 _Again,_ Mayura thought to herself. She was always just causing trouble for everyone.

"I'm sorry." She said to the younger girl. Sayo walked to Mayura and put her arms around her. "Sayo-chan?" Mayura said, unable to make any movement. Sayo rested her head on Mayura's shoulder, smiling.

"You know," she said not moving from her position. "I always thought that I'd never give my Nii nii-sama to anyone." Mayura returned Sayo's hug. She really loved her brother a lot.

"But if it's you, I guess I don't have to worry." Mayura pushed the girl back softly, looking into her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sayo gave a playful smile to Mayura. "I'll leave that for you to figure out. " She said, standing up and walking out through the door.

"You know," she said to Mayura before turned to look at the girl, who was all smiles.

"Thank you."

* * *

Mayura sat there, confused. Whatever Sayo said was a mystery to her. All she knew was that she could no longer be a burden on the kind hearted boy, who had held her throughout the night just because she was in pain.

After a very refreshing bath and change of clothes that she received from the maids, Mayura was ready to leave.

She walked out of the main house. Mayura thought about where she would go, what she would do. She was scared,so scared. But she had to leave. She couldn't be a be a burden any longer.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Came a voice from in front of her. She looked up to see none other than the person she was thinking of.

Shimon was wearing his usual red garbs, the clothes he wore when he was working.

Behind him, there were a few servants,but one thing in particular caught her eye. One of the men was carrying a suitcase.

Her suitcase!

"That's mine! " Shimon turned to look at what she was pointing.

"I know." He said plainly.

"Why do you have it?" She asked him. He sighed. "I went to the Amawaka house and brought it. " Mayura's eyes widened. All for her. It was all for her.

"You," she said, looking at the ground sadly. "You don't have to force yourself to help me."

That ticked Shimon off. He walked to her and gripped her wrist, pulling her back towards the house. "Shimon! What are you doing?" He didn't say a word, quietly pulling her along.

He kept walking for a while and she didn't resist. After a while, Shimon halted, standing in front of a beautiful tree that was in full bloom.

"Cherry blossoms..?" Mayura whispered. It was beautiful. Shimon let go of her hand. Mayura walked ahead, touching the trunk of the tree. Petals fell from above, showering down on the girl. Mayura smiled, closing her eyes, letting the petals rain down on her. She opened her eyes to look at the older boy, who was standing behind her, watching her in silence.

"It's so beautiful Shimon!" She exclaimed,smiling ear to ear. He walked towards her with slow steps. Mayura's heart starting racing. Huh? She thought to herself. Why was her heart beating so fast?

Shimon stood right in front of Mayura, and she looked up, him being a full head taller than her. He plucked a petal that was stuck in her hair and looked at it, his lips curving into a gentle smile.

"That smile," He looked into Mayura's eyes and said,

"I want to protect that smile."

Mayura went red as a tomato. Butterflies danced in her stomach.

"So you don't have to worry about anything. You don't have to go anywhere. Okay?" He said, offering his hand to Mayura. She just nodded her head, unable to speak and put her hand in his. Shimon turned around and continued walking ahead.

"Oh and by the way," Shimon suddenly said, stopping and turning to look at the still blushing girl behind him.

"Thank you."

Mayura raised an eyebrow in question. He was thanking her? Shouldn't it be the other way round?

"For what?" Mayura asked, confused.

"That tree," Shimon said, smiling at Mayura, making her heart race all over again.

"I was the one who had planted it there 8 years ago."

* * *

Rokuro was lying on the floor of the training room, tired after practicing for hours without counting. He shut his eyes and spread his hands and legs apart, letting his sweat cool off. He couldn't be slacking off, after all, he had an enemy to defeat.

 **Sniff sniff.**

Rokuro scrunched his forehead. He thought he heard something.

 **Sniff sniff.**

Rokuro opened his eyes. It was coming from outside the room. He walked towards the back door. Rokuro knew fully well that the back door led to a giant forest. Who was there?

He walked and softly unlocked the door.

 **Sniff sniff** , he heard again.

Rokuro peeped out. And then he saw her. A tiny girl was sitting, her head in between her knees. Her long black hair nearly hid her entire tiny frame, but he couldn't see her face. Rokuro walked out and quietly sat down next to the little girl who seemed to be crying.

"Are you alright?" Rokuro asked, reaching out to touch the girl. But before he could, the girl looked up.

Rokuro froze for an instant. Black straight hair flowing down her back, emerald eyes looking right at him, full of tears and her white soft skin. This child. She looked just like...

"Benio..?"

The girl who was staring at him , suddenly gasped and got up. Rokuro didn't move. He was amazed at how she looked exactly like Benio, just younger. The girl looked at Rokuro one last time, before speeding away in front of the house. Rokuro sat down, resting his back on the wall and shutting his eyes.

Who was that?

It had been a week since the children started coming to Rokuro and he was getting quite used to them, but the part that annoyed him was that they would completely ignore him outside.

Why were they so afraid of their parents?

" Come on, isn't there anything you can do?" Rokuro heard someone say in a mocking tone.

"I already told you, brother! She's useless!" Another masculine voice came, laughing.

"Yeah! A defective woman's defective child!" Rokuro turned to look at the source of the insults.

Three middle aged men stood surrounding a little child. It was the same child he had seen.

"Oh look! She's crying again!" One of the men said.

"You think anyone will save you? You're a black mark on the Adashino name." He said, pulling her hair. The girl screamed trying to push the man away, in vain.

Rokuro had had enough. He stepped down from the ledge and onto the ground. Just as he was going to shout out to the men, something grabbed at his legs. He looked down to see Tatsuya, one of the children that always came to him. "You can't." He whispered. "You can't help her."

"You expect me to watch a little girl being tortured?" Rokuro said angrily go the little boy. "Tatsuya is right! You can't interfere." Another girl said, grabbing Rokuro's other leg. All the while, the girl continued screaming.

"Rokuro-kun, the children are right. You mustn't mess with them." Said Raijin, coming out from behind him. Rokuro took in a deep breath.

"What's wrong with you guys? Have you no sense of pity?! If you can't do anything, let me! Why are you stopping me?!" He yelled, his anger getting the better of him.

"Because we don't want you to go!"

The kids yelled in unison. Rokuro stopped talking. "They are the representatives of the Adashino house. If you defy them, you're going to end up thrown out." Raijin said sadly.

"But-" Rokuro started and looked down at the kids. They were watching the child being abused with tears in their eyes. Rokuro bent down and hugged the two children. Exactly how horrible were the conditions here?

After a few minutes, the three men threw the girl down and walked away, apparently satisfying their sadistic nature. The minute they disappeared from sight, Rokuro ran to the little girl,who was just fallen on the ground, crying. He went up to her and pulled her up. She flinched and shut her eyes, thinking the assault wasn't over yet. Rokuro patted her head and pulled her into a hug.

The girl didn't move for a while, and then suddenly began bawling her eyes out. Rokuro picked the tiny girl up, resting her head on his shoulder. The children simply followed Rokuro and Raijin did not stop him.

Reaching his room, Rokuro tried to make the girl sit on his bed, but she wouldn't let go of him. She just kept crying and Rokuro held her head over his shoulder, patting it softly. Raijin quietly stood in the doorway, not attempting to talk to the infuriated boy. The children stood around Rokuro, looking up at the little girl with sad eyes.

After a while of consoling her, the girl fell asleep. Rokuro put her down on his bed and heaved a sigh of relief. Now turning to the man standing by the door, Rokuro folded his hand near his chest and said,

"I'd like an explanation."

Raijin sighed.

This was going to take a while.

* * *

Mayura had been staying at the Ikaruga house for a week and how lovely they were! Everyone was extremely friendly and treated her like family, she felt so loved.

"Shimon look!" She said, running to where the boy was sitting, reading a scroll. She was currently in the process of learning how to write newer talismans from the family members and put her spiritual energy into them. Shimon looked at the talisman and smiled.

"You have beautiful handwriting!" Mayura blushed. She didn't understand why, but she had come to realise that whenever she was in close proximity to Shimon, her heart wouldn't stop hammering into her chest. "Thanks..." she whispered, looking at his smiling face. Just then, the door of the room burst open.

"Nii nii-sama! There's someone here for Mayura!" Shimon looked at his sister. Judging by her expression, he already knew the answer to his next question. "From where?" He asked. Sayo gulped. He already looked murderous.

"The Amawaka clan."

Everyone in the room went silent. Mayura looked at Shimon, who closed his eyes. He stood up and walked out uttering a small `excuse me'. Mayura was scared.

Why were they here?

But she knew one thing. She couldn't let Shimon take care of all her problems. Mayura stood up and bowing to them, walked out of the room. In front of her, was a sight she hadn't imagined.

The Ikaruga head stood next to Shimon and Sayo, in front of whom, a lady lay on the floor. Mayura was almost certain it was the same woman who sat in the exorcist council when they had first arrived.

The representative of the Amawaka clan.

"What brings you here, Yuzuru-dono? (Dono-respectful way of calling someone on about the same ranking as you.)" Mayura heard Sayo's father say.

Mayura went and stood next to Shimon. The woman didn't raise her head in shame.

"Please forgive me! It is our fault that Mayura-sama suffered so much!" Mayura looked at the woman. She sounded so sorrowful. "I had been out working the whole week and so I had know knowledge that something this outrageous had happened. Please forgive me on behalf of my family." Shimon clenched his fists.

"This is not something you can just apologize for. You have inflicted pain on a young member of your own family. An apology will not suffice." Shimon said, holding back his anger. He didn't want to explode here, not in front of his family. "What did you come here for? Leave." Shimon uttered. The woman did not move.

"I have come to take Mayura-sama back with me."

 **BANG!**

Shimon hit the pillar next to him. Pieces of wood began falling down. Mayura froze.

 _Oh dear,_ thought the Ikaruga head.

"I said **LEAVE**." Shimon's voice was no longer gentle or calm. It was a voice Mayura didn't recognize and she didn't like it one bit.

This was her fault. She had to decide. What would she do? Would she keep running away, hiding under his shadow?

Mayura took a deep breath in.

"I will go back with you." She said, crouching on the floor, next to where Yuzuru was.

The woman looked up, her eyes widening.

"Mayura!" Shimon yelled . Mayura raised a hand to silence the boy. She walked over to where he was. She put here hand on his hot, burning face and he instantly relaxed, looking her in the eyes.

Sea met the sky.( a play on their eye colours.)

"You know , when I was a kid, I thought it was stupid, but Rokuro always said something that remained at the back of my head till today. " Mayura recalled Rokuro's words.

`Courage to me is doing something daring, no matter how afraid, insecure, intimidated, alone, unworthy, incapable, ridiculed or whatever other paralyzing emotion you might feel. Courage is taking action,no matter what. So you're afraid? Be afraid. Be scared silly to the point you're trembling and nauseous, but do it anyway!'

Shimon sighed. _Typical Enmadou_ , he thought.

"I can't live under your shadow, Shimon. I want to be your equal and for that, I'll have to face my fears." Shimon looked angry,annoyed, but most of all, he looked sad.

He pulled Mayura in for a hug, in front of almost more tham half of his family.

"Oh my..." the maids whispered. Mayura didn't attempt to break free, instead she put her hands around him, not paying any attention to the onlookers.

Shimon tightened his grip on the girl, nuzzling her neck. Mayura smiled.

"Be careful. " He said.

"Mhmm." Mayura whispered. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "And you're coming home immediately if anything goes wrong, you understand?" Mayura raised an eyebrow.

"Home?" She said quizzically. Shimon walked a few steps back, standing with all the members of his family.

"Ofcourse! This is your home. We are your family." Sayo said. Stepping down, to stand next to her brother. Mayura put a hand on her mouth and a tear slipped down her eye. All the members of the Ikaruga family stood, smiling at her.

 _Ah, the_ _sweet fruit of acceptance_ , Mayura thought to herself.

Yuzuru stood up and thanked Mayura, who simply smiled at her. The maids brought her luggage and she was all set to depart. She turned to look at Shimon one last time, who looked worried beyond measure. She walked up to him and flicked his forehead.

"Don't look so afraid. I won't be eaten up." He held her hand, that was over his face in place on his cheek. "Okay." She smiled and he smiled back. These moments she shared with him were some of her greatest memories.

Waving goodbye to everyone, she left for the Amawaka house, once again, this time, a clear thought in mind.

This was **her resolve.**

* * *

There you go! I hope you liked it. I wanted to show Mayura become stronger, not a helpless girl, because I dont like damsels in distress. Next chapter will have Benio and another one of our favorite Sousei no onmyouji characters. Can you guess who? See ya till the next time. Love y'all ❤


	6. Chapter Six

Hello everyone!I'm back with chapter 6!

Firstly, I have to say thank you for the lovely reviews! They really make my day ❤

Secondly, since I'm continuing the original story , I must hand over the stage to the main characters so that the story progresses. Ofcourse this doesn't mean there won't be any ShiMayu. This chapter has them too, but I can't completely neglect Rokuro and Benio or else we'll be stuck in a boot loop. Also, for all those 18 and above (or just any of you that read smut), there will definitely be some adult situations in between both the couple's, based on which I may increase the ratings. That's all I have to say.

Now then, let's begin!

* * *

 _Sometimes we must hurt in order to grow,_

Fail in order to know,

 _And lose in order to gain,_

Because some lessons in life,

Are best learned by pain .

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6 Sacrifice_  
**

 **Huff huff.**

Mixed with the silent breeze of the mountains, you could hear the heavy breathing of a girl.

"Banma chouboku, kyu kyu no ritsuryo!" She exclaimed, to no avail.

This was her fifth attempt in that hour.

Three weeks had passed since Benio set out, but she feared it was all in vain. She tried relentlessly, but nothing helped. Benio fell down, her legs giving out after practicing for far too long, and the weather hadn't gotten any better either.

"Benio-sama, please rest. You cannot push yourself anymore." Suiren said, pleading the girl to stop. Benio stood on her feet, still wobbling and stretched her shivering hand holding a talisman.

"I can't." She replied. "I have to go soon. I can't stay behind." The man sighed. Why would she never listen?

She was supposed drain herself out of her normal energy and then, her spiritual energy should have risen, but it didn't happen. Benio extended her hand, but her feet gave away and she fell again.

"Benio-sama!" The man exclaimed, coming to her aid. Tears dripped down her face.

"Why?" She whispered, shivering.

"Why isn't it working, Suiren?"

The older man looked at his exhausted, demotivated and underconfident mistress sadly. What should he do?

How could he help her anymore?

Suiren was about to pull her up, when he could feel eyes on him. Here? Who could follow them to a place like this? He looked around cautiously, sweeping the area with his eyes.

No one.

But he couldn't shake off the feeling as if someone was watching them from somewhere.

And then it struck him.

Pulling out his kaimon-fu , he chanted the mantra before yelling, "Magano gate, unlock!"

Benio looked up at the familiar place. Why had he brought her to Magano? Suiren looked around again. This time he was sure there was someone. They were watching Benio through the gaps in the border to the worlds for some reason.

"Who's there?!" Suiren yelled into the still silent Magano.

His voice summoned a million impurities that seemed hungry. Suiren pulled out a talisman, using his powers to protect his mistress. But the man was so busy with the lot in front of him, that he failed to notice the ones behind. Benio tried to stand up, dragging her aching and frostbitten body over the cold ground.

Laughter reverberated the air. To Benio, it felt as though they were mocking her, her inability to shut them up.

"Benio-sama! Behind you !" She heard the man scream. A giant impurity stood, raising his hand in a swift movement, ready to attack. It was all happening too fast. Benio couldn't defend herself and Suiren was already struggling. His power had been halved,since his mistress couldn't use her powers.

It was all her fault. And now she was going to die.

She closed her eyes. Maybe death was better than being useless.

"Benio-sama!" Suiren screamed, reaching out to her, unsuccessfully so. Benio opened her eyes, ready to accept death as it came. But it did not happen.

The impurity in front of Benio exploded from inside, annihilated completely.

What just happened?

"Looking at you struggle relentlessly really is entertaining," she heard a monotonous voice she remembered oh so well.

"How do I explain this," The boy said landing on the ground,standing right before the fallen girl.

"It's like watching someone walk into a wall again and again."

Suiren didn't understand what was happening. Benio pulled herself up, standing on her feet before her arch nemesis.

That's right, she thought to herself. She couldn't give up. She had to stand up, she had to work hard, try again.

She had to exorcise him.

"Kamui."

* * *

Raijin walked out of Rokuro's room with him and the kids. "You're well aware of the fact that Benio-sama's parents were the previous leaders right?" He said, starting to explain. Rokuro simply nodded his head, not wanting to interrupt. Raijin continued.

"Well, what most people don't know, is that Saki-sama, in fact had a sibling, the same age as her. Her twin sister." Rokuro's eyes widened.

A twin?

"You would think they'd have competed to become the head, right? But that is in fact far from the truth." Raijin said. Rokuro didn't speak. He wanted to hear the whole story before saying anything.

"Saki-sama's sister, even though born at the same time, had a very weak body. She couldn't stay out for a long while and was always on medication. " He paused to look skywards.

"By the age of six, Akira-sama could barely even leave her room. But this didn't hinder the love between the siblings. Saki-sama stayed with her sister all the time, while also having to shoulder the responsibilities of the future heir. She noticed the ill treatment her sibling had to suffer and promised to shield her away from all evil. But fate works in mysterious ways." Raijin sighed.

"During the period leading to Saki-sama's marriage and future coronation, Akira-sama had a helper, whom she began to fall in love with. She told her sister that he wished to marry her and though reluctantly, her sister agreed, only wishing for her unwell sibling's happiness."

"But once married, things began to go downhill. Her lover turned husband was only looking for ways to get into the Adashino family, which was at it's best back then and this was the easiest and most convenient way he could. He stood up to Saki-sama, stating that being married to her sister, who was the same age as her, he would also qualify as a candidate for the heir. His wife tried to talk him out of it, but that's when she noticed the change in him. He was no longer to sweet talking man who loved her. He was a devil. He challenged Saki-sama to a match, which she easily won. Having lost his chance once, his abuse didn't stop there."

"He began pushing for a child on the woman, who due to her poor health was advised against it. Still due to his continued demands, she finally gave in,but was completely unsuccessful. Trying again and again, her health kept deteriorating till it came to point that she was completely bedridden."

"Saki-sama, by then had already birthed the twins. The enraged husband began to abuse his wife, who tolerated it without a word, in an effort to not worry her sister. The horrors continued until the woman gave birth to a daughter 6 years later. Soon after, Saki-sama and Hyuuga-sama were murdered and Yuuto-sama was sent off to the Ijika house. Akira-sama mourned her sister's demise, as for her own life, everything was alright. Until," Raijin paused, the horrific event still playing in his head.

"Until?" Rokuro said, sitting in between the two terrified children who were leaning on him, hanging onto his arm.

"Until he found out that the child was powerless." Rokuro remained silent.

`Can't you do anything?'

`A black mark on the Adashino name.'

`A defective woman's defective child'

All of them now made sense.

"The area of the house where Akira-sama lived was shunned and no one ever went there. Her husband left that part of the house and resumed to stay in the main house. Their child grew up in isolation, never allowed to associate with any other members of the family, except her completely bedridden mother. She learnt to live on her own and anyone who tried to help her was treated terribly or thrown out of the house. So, after a while, the woman of the house, who pitied the poor child, stopped trying to help her for their own children's sake."

Rokuro was speechless.

How the hell had this been the norm for so many years!? A poor child was ignored and the only time she got attention was when she was being ridiculed.

Rokuro had lost count of how many things were wrong with this situation.

He stood up, startling the almost asleep children. "Well, I'll let them know that I don't know how to ignore a child. I don't understand the rules and I will not follow them." Raijin smiled.

Maybe, just maybe, Raijin had been right to bring it to Rokuro's notice.

Even if there was just a tiny possibility, like a speck in a vast constellation, maybe Rokuro could help.

* * *

"Mayura-sama," Yuzuru said, walking to where Mayura was sitting, admiring the scenery. "We have brought what you requested."

Things had been rather silent since she came back to the Amawaka household. Ofcourse, she wasn't really accepted as of yet, but they didn't trouble her like they had done before. Suffice to say, she was really happy.

Mayura smiled at the woman, the scar across her eye proof of the pain she had been through. The Amawaka house, as Mayura had noticed , was completely devoid of life. She had been told in brief by her father about his family and what they did, but it still wasn't reason enough to live in dull surroundings.

So the ever so lively Mayura had thought of something.

"Thank you oba-san!" She said smiling. She had come to realise that the older woman found it endearing and loved to be called that by Mayura, so it's somehow just stuck.

Mayura walked out into the barren garden. There was nothing there, except a giant lone banyan tree that looked about a thousand years old. Mayura went out and picked out an ideal spot for her business. Bending down, she dug a tiny hole into the soil with her bare hands. Turning around, she took the plastic that Yuzuru had handed over to her and opened it.

Inside , were tiny little seeds. Mayura put them in and shut the hole with a larger amount of mud, patting it down softly.

Lately, Mayura had been pretty absent minded and she knew the reason why. Before coming to the island, all Mayura ever thought of was being with Rokuro, to not lose to Benio, but slowly slowly, her morals were changing. She no longer wanted to follow anyone.

She wanted to lead her own life in her own way, much like they all were doing.

But what bothered Mayura the most was, lately she wasn't thinking of Rokuro at all. Lately, the only person she was thinking of was...

"You look like you're doing well."

Mayura looked up, trying to locate the source of the voice. Up on the tree,sat a boy, his eyes closed, head pointing skywards, hands behind his head.

"Shimon!" She exclaimed. He jumped off the tree, landing swiftly next to Mayura.

"I sort of hoped you'd be miserable. That way I could take you home with me." He said. Mayura blushed a bright red, looking away on an effort to hide her embarrassment.

"Everyone is really missing you."

He bent down to look at what was in her hand.

"What are you doing?" He asked, tilting his head in question.

Mayura picked up the jug full of water , pouring it over the mound of soil.

"Exactly what it looks like," Mayura said. "Planting a tree."

"Oh?" Shimon said, looking away. Mayura looked up at him, trying to think of reasons why she couldn't stop thinking about him.

Was it because he had helped her so much?

"And not just any other tree, you know?" She said, still looking at him. He looked down at her, they're eyes meeting.

"It's a cherry blossom tree ."

Shimon's eyes widened.

"Someday ," Mayura said standing up and grabbing Shimon's hand. "Someday this small will grow and spread it's joy to the people that admire it, like the one you planted all those years ago. The more the tree bloomed, the stronger you got." Shimon smiled at her.

So she had known all along, his reason for planting that tree.

" Someday it will blossom just like yours and so will I. I will be your equal, in strength of heart,mind and body. Just wait and watch. "

Shimon pulled the girl closer to him, his lips on her delicate fingers.

"Then someday, under this very tree, I'll tell you the words I've been wanting to say."

Mayura blushed at his actions, but did not understand the underlying unspoken emotions behind it, not that Shimon had expected her to.

And just like that, the two of them sat, talking for hours at end, not a care in the world, their hearts unknown to them, were beating as one.

* * *

"Kamui," Benio spat out.

"Why are you here?"

"I told you didn't I? It's entertaining to watch you." Benio struggled to keep her balance, while watching the boy in front of her.

Suiren ran to where Benio was, shielding her from any harm.

"Nice pet you have there." Kamui said looking at Suiren. He growled at the Basara boy, who simply smiled.

"Don't try to take advantage of Benio-sama's handicap. "

"Don't worry , I won't ," Kamui said plainly.

"I'm not interested in weak people."

This hit home alright.

Benio picked up her weapons, the ones that she was trying to use and charged at Kamui,who didn't even flinch. He defended himself with his bare arm and and used his other hand to fling the struggling girl off of him.

"No matter how many times you try, it's not going to help. You really are hopeless, aren't you?" Benio tried to get up again, fishing for her weapon that had fallen at quite a distance from where she was.

"I would have killed you here," she heard him say.

"But we still have a score to settle."

Benio looked up at him as he walked towards her. Suiren didn't move from where he was, Benio clearly didn't want him to interfere. Kamui lifted Benio up by her collar, her hands holding on to his in an effort to save herself from choking. She looked into his eyes, through her only partially opened ones

"Tell me," he said, moving his free hand dangerously close to her throat.

"Should I help you?" Benio's eyes widened.

 _Again_ , she thought to herself.

It was the same situation. That time, she was desperate to fight with Rokuro, and this time was no different. He was right. She was weak and right now, more than ever, she needed anything that could help her.

"Put her down!" Suiren yelled, racing to Benio's aid.

"Stop!" Benio shouted. The man halted, surprised at his own mistress's reaction.

Benio then slowly turned her head to Kamui who had a smirk on his face.

"I need your help." She whispered,t ears in her eyes, once again letting go of all her principles,all her self-esteem, once again accepting help from a Basara, one of the reasons she'd suffered so much, someone she had to defeat no matter what

She had told him that's she'd do anything to be with him, and she intended to keep her promise.

 _`Wait for me everyone.'_ shethought to herself, before everything blacked out.

* * *

Okay. One more chapter done! Phew! I hope you liked it! Please review ❤ I had to bring Kamui in, after all, he's always helping her! And I put in a little ShiMayu moment that will be important later ;) Thank you again ❤ I love y'all.


	7. Chapter Seven

Hey _everyone!_ I'm sorry for the delay! Firstly, thank you for your encouraging comments! I'm so glad you like it! I legit wrote this chapter while drinking rum in my own birthday party. Yes,all my friends were wasted and I wasn't.

As always,thank you for reading and I love you so much! *blows kisses*

* * *

 _"Fear is a powerful enemy,_

 _but not one that is impossible to overcome."_

* * *

 **Chapter 7 : Courage**

Black.

That's all the 16 year old girl could see as far her eyes could reach. There seemed to be no floor, yet she was standing, no sky, yet she was floating, no air around her, yet she was breathing. It didn't have any characteritic feeling to it, almost as if Benio's five senses had been blocked.

Exactly what was this place?

To the girl it felt like standing inside of a void, or a black hole, neither of which she had ever experienced, but they'd probably feel like this; a complete lack of life .

"Suiren?" She called out, softly.

Where had he gone? Weren't they practicing by the mountain a while ago?

'Shall I help you?' A voice rang in her ears. Her eyes widened.

"Always looking for help," she heard a familiar voice from somewhere behind her.

She turned her head, only to see the Basara boy floating above her, seemingly comfortable in the environment, or lack thereof.

He came down to where she was, flying or floating, Benio couldn't tell.

"Can't you do anything yourself?"

Benio moved two steps back, away from the boy who simply stood there, an innocent smile plastered on his face.

Only if she could rip it off his face.

"Where are we?!" Benio screamed, her voice resonating, creating an eerie sound effect as it died down, vanishing into nothingness.

Kamui walked to where she was standing, his usual torn robes, sticking to parts of his body that didn't seem to need covering.

The bright yellow mark on his chest proudly shone, declaring him an impurity, rendering him Benio's enemy.

And yet, here she was, challenging the very rule of exorcists all over the world, probably crushing the thousand year treaty with every decision she was taking.

There's no turning back now, she thought, while standing rooted to one spot, watching the boy, who stood at about a feets distance, near enough to kill her, but far enough to prove he wouldn't try.

"Induced sleep." He said, his vividly radiant eyes looking into her emerald ones. He didn't enjoy explaining things, but felt the need to answer her questions, his reason being that 'humans were dumb'.

She looked at him quizzically.

Induced sleep?

Benio looked around her, at the strange environment. She seemed to remember this place, something about it felt oddly familiar.

And then it hit her.

"I've been here before.." she said, her mouth agape, looking at the boy who smiled.

She remembered. On the day of the fight with her brother, when she lost her legs, the impurity corruption that she had accepted, sent her real body into a temporary slumber and her soul, into deep darkness.

It was the same place.

"Then this place is..." she trailed off, waiting for him to complete her sentence.

"The resting place of your soul."

Benio gasped, her head turning in all directions.

Here, shrouded in darkness, was where her soul resided. In its entirety, Benio could only conclude that the darkest emotions had accumulated, causing her inner self to shrink, for it to hide.

How hideous.

"In this ring of hell," the boy continued, raising his hands up at the non existent sky.

"Is where your powers are trapped."

Benio raised her eyebrows.

"Trapped?" She asked, her eyes now trying to follow the boy's movements.

He walked around her in a circle, his gaze not drifting away from her for even a second.

"Your powers never vanished," He said, smirking at her for the 10th time in all the while they'd been here. How long it had been, Benio couldn't tell.

He stopped somewhere behind her where Benio couldn't see and said,

"It simply locked itself away."

Benio tried to locate the boy, who seemed to have vanished, his words hanging in the air.

"Why?!" She yelled, trying to find him, still hungry for answers. Why did her powers just disappear all of a sudden?

"Why indeed? " She heard him ask, his voice echoing all around her.

She couldn't answer. What would she say?

" Then, enlighten me,human," his voice boomed, and she looked upwards, frantically turning her head in all directions, unable to pinpoint the location of the source.

"That day you supposedly lost you powers," she heard his voice say, softer than before, more quietly, more seriously.

She heard something stir behind her. Before Benio could turn around however, she felt breath fanning her neck. The girl froze, all movement ceasing in that nerve wrecking moment.

"You felt it didn't you?" From behind her, Kamui smiled and whispered,

"Your soul being consumed by the darkness."

* * *

Rokuro rubbed his eyes tiredly,groaning. He had had to sleep on the floor that night, the bed already occupied by a tiny guest. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He was really tired, having had to intake all of the information that was relayed to him about this absolutely wrecked house.

How on Earth was he going to fix this?

Rokuro turned to his side, rolling over, planning to sleep some more, when he noticed a pair of eyes peering at him from the bed above. Rokuro sat up abruptly, his heart had nearly jumped out of his chest.

"You're awake?" He said, walking over to his table, pouring water into a glass.

The girl didn't answer. She looked from the boy to her bandaged arm and then back at the boy.

She blinked a few times. Trying to recollect yesterday's happenings? Rokuro mused.

"Oni-chan is nice." She said, sitting up,opening her mouth since they first time he'd seen her. Her voice was as childish as he thought it would be, a slight waver in it. She was probably still scared, he thought handing over the glass to her.

Rokuro sat next to her on the bed, looking down at her.

"What makes you say so?" He asked, intrigued by her words.

"Oni-chan saved me."

Rokuro scoffed, looking at floor where he had been lying about a minute ago.

"I wonder about that.." He said. Sure, Rokuro wasn't the kind of person who would watch a little girl being tortured in front of his eyes willingly, but even he had to admit the whole truth to himself.

Part of the reason Rokuro had lost his cool was because this girl, when she was crying reminded him of someone else.

Someone he had seen crying like that not a long while ago.

Rokuro squeezed his palms that were folded above his lap, in an effort to keep his calm, when he felt a tiny hand on them.

He looked down to see the tiny girl, standing in front of him and smiling from ear to ear.

"Oni-chan is a nice person!" The girl repeated, this time more adamantly. She really was just like Benio.

He patted her head and she smiled wider, if that was even possible. How could anyone hurt this child? Rokuro thought, sitting down on the floor, his kneeling form being her actual height.

"Don't worry," he said, pulling her into a hug.

"I'll help you."

The girl hugged the boy back happily, giggling at nothing at all.

He'd take care of her.

* * *

Mayura breathed in the scent of warm tea, letting it soothe her sore body. She had been training for hours, with her sparring partner, who was merciless. He didn't let her rest for a second, continuously defeating her and not stopping till she got the upper hand, which was, mind you, the only time they stopped, when the day was nearly over.

Then again, she thought to herself; to be able to stand at par with people as strong as him and her father, she'd have to work harder, surpassing her limit.

"You worked hard today. Well done." The salmon haired boy announced, stepping into the large room, where Mayura sat, sipping away at her tea. It was a large tatami matted traditional room, with flower vases lining the sides, something Mayura had suggested after a few days of bearing the gloomy feeling the house elicited.

The adults had grumbled a bit in the beginning, and then just didn't talk about it. But the kids, were a completely different story. They danced around the house, now happily singing songs that Mayura had taught them over the past few days. They brought flowers to her every morning, from God knows where, for her to replace the old withering ones.

"I wonder how Adashino-san and Rokuro are doing.." she thought aloud, staring off into space. Whatever had occurred in the time she had come here had changed one aspect of her life.

"He must be alright. If anything, he's probably causing trouble for the people there. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw him starving on the street." Shimon said, sitting across Mayura on the matt, arranging pieces on the floor. Brain practice, he called it.

For when your body is too exhausted.

Mayura had sensed the change in herself a few days ago, slightly happy and somewhat confused.

She could now talk about Rokuro without feeling a stabbing pain in her chest or feel anything at all. She had also somewhat come to accept the fact that Rokuro could never return to her, what she had carried for him in her heart for all these years.

But what had helped her come to this conclusion?

Mayura eyed the boy, who sat across her staring at his pieces in deep thought, analysing the next move she'd make. They had been playing shogi everyday, but today was the first time Shimon had decided the game.

And it was chess.

Mayura smiled at him, picking up one of her pieces.

"You know,chess has something very important that Shogi doesn't," Mayura said, playing with the piece, rolling it in between her fingers and feeling the smooth ebony rub against her soft skin.

"A strong queen to protect the king."

Shimon raised an eyebrow at her words, as if questioning their authenticity.

Mayura placed her piece in front of his and smirking at the gaping boy, announced,

"Check-mate."

She was a national level chess champion, but given his awe-stricken expression, she would be keeping that a secret from him .

* * *

Benio stood glued to the floor, the words Kamui had uttered wrecking havoc in her mind. He was right.

She had felt it.

Benio had experienced being taken over by an unknown force, throwing her into oblivion. And for a split second, Benio could hear voices calling out to her, the darkness penetrating her deepest thoughts. She was afraid, very very afraid.

Kamui kept looking at her, her changing expressions of fear feeding his sadistic temperament.

He was an impurity after all; he lived off negative emotions.

"That right there, is the root of all your problems," he said pointing at her face. Benio looked up, her expression remaining unchanged.

"You fear your own power."

Benio's mouth fell open.

All this while, she had been trying to get her powers back, ofcourse it would be a waste!

She never did lose them, only shut them away herself, fearing her own abilities.

And now, Benio knew what she had to do. She had but to accept what already was, no longer denying herself how far she could reach.

She'd no longer watch everyone get ahead of her, nor would she tolerate taking anyone's support to stand.

She had lost her legs once, and had stumbled, only to be lifted up again.

But this time, she wouldn't lose her way.

No longer would she be left behind.

She would accept herself for everything that she was, to become everything she could be.

The Basara boy stood looking at her expression transform into a confident smile.

She really was amusing, he mused, before walking away into the darkness, leaving the now rejuvenated girl to herself.

He'd leave the rest to her.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked it! Looking forward to your reviews! I love y'all.


	8. Chapter Eight

Hey everyone! Let me just say, the reviews though! Kyaaa I'm so happy I can't even explain!

Anyway, everyone who is looking forward to Benio and Rokuro's reunion, I am too!

Now then, let's begin!

* * *

 _The greatest thing you'll ever_ _learn,_

 _Is just to love and be loved in return_ _._

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Accepting**

"Ro-Ku-Ro." The little girl said, her black hair swaying in rhythm with her movement.

She was seated in one corner of the giant training room, looking like a grain of salt on the floor. Rokuro didn't reply, him being busy with training and all. Recently Rokuro had discovered that his defense skills were weak, since Benio had always taken care of that part of the fight.

He had no sparring partner here and he'd been so used to being with someone for two years, that training alone just felt strange.

And lonely.

How was she even doing? Was she okay? Eating well? Attending school?

 **Alive?**

Rokuro threw a punch at the bag, his knuckles digging into them as deep as he could push them. His mind was no longer on the training, but he wasn't aware of that.

"Ro-Ku-Ro..." She repeated, standing up and walking to where the boy was - very literally - beating the crap out of the thing before him.

Rokuro hit again and again, each time pushing harder, his rage over this situation not calming down for a second.

"RO-KU-RO!" The girl yelled, standing in front of the bag with her arms spread out just as Rokuro threw a punch at it.

She closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact, as Rokuro stopped his movement,his fist a mere millimeter away from her face.

Rokuro transferred all the force he could to his legs, pushing on the ground to break his stance so he could stop himself.

This move however, caused the boy to- very ungraciously- fall straight on his butt.

He heaved a sigh of relief,using the back of his hand to wipe the sweat on his brow.

"What do you think you were doing?" He scolded the little girl, who just looked terrified.

"It's dangerous, don't you see?!"

"B-but," she said, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. With trembling fingers, she pointed to Rokuro's knuckles.

"B-blood..." She said.

Rokuro looked at his hand. The familiar red fluid was trickling down it, his knuckles completely bruised.

The girl wiped her tears and walked to Rokuro, and taking his hand in hers she kissed his knuckles.

"Ouch!" Rokuro said under his breath. She immediately looked up, her big emerald eyes wide in fear. She let go of his hands and ran to where the bag was, hitting it almost as if she was scolding it. Rokuro watched curiously.

She then ran over to him and caressed his bleeding wrists softly. Rokuro giggled like a child at her behavior and she just grinned stupidly.

"Hey," Rokuro said to the little girl, who looked up at him in question.

"You know, everyone says you have no talent, right?" Her face instantly fell. She looked at the ground, her lower lip quivering.

"I'll teach you ." Rokuro said, taking a deep breath in. It was a great responsibility, but he was up for it.

After all, he loved challenges!

"Not fair!" Came a voice from near the door.

They turned to look and there stood the gang of six children, peeping in on them.

"That's what I was wondering," Rokuro said, watching the kids walking towards him.

"Where you six monkeys had disappeared too."

"Teach us too!" Tatsuya said, his hand over his chest.

"Yeah yeah!" The others agreed.

"But don't you guys already have classes?" Rokuro questioned, after all, they were already under training by some of the best teachers!

"But it's just boring! They never teach us cool stuff. All they do is make us write tests and rank us according to that and say that we have to become exorcists because we don't have a choice. " They pouted.

It wasn't news to Rokuro, ofcourse. In all the while he'd been here, he'd noticed something common in between everybody on this island.

A lack of passion.

He sighed, standing up and brushing the dirt of his training clothes. "Okay, okay..." He replied, seemingly losing to those puppy dog eyes they had pulled.

From outside, all the woman of the Adashino house watched their children pounce on the older boy who fell to the ground, laughing with the children who were piled over him .

 _Better days had come_ _for this wretched house_ , they thought to themselves smiling.

* * *

Benio stayed trapped in the darkness, still analysing her situation. Sure, she had decided to accept herself, but how? How was she supposed to convince herself that she was no longer afraid of her own power?

Benio shut her eyes, letting her thoughts empty into her soul.

"Choose human," a voice rang in her ears. She opened her eyes to see the scene replay in front of her, like a movie.

Except this was one she did not want to watch.

"Your mother or your father?"

"No! No! Please, no!" Benio screamed, putting her barely movable hands over her ears.

She never wanted to go through something so painful ever again.

"You know," another voice said, replacing the cries from her earlier memory.

"Besides the whole marriage thing, I think I might like you!"

Her eyes widened as she looked up, her tear filled eyes gazing at what was in front of her.

His childish grin filled her heart with joy. The previous memory shattered, like a glass breaking and disappearing into the darkness, only to be replaced by the new one.

"I am all alone..." Benio turned to look at her left, where a memory of herself crying floated in front of her eyes. It was after she has received the news that her parents and brother-the latter being a hoax- had died.

"If you talk about life or death," his voice crystal clear in her mind with an unusual seriousness in it. "Then I died two years ago. The one who brought me back to life was you, Benio." The same thing happened again.

Slowly, Benio could feel her body getting lighter accompanied by the feeling of a weight being lifted off her heart.

" I never even considered you worthy to be called an exorcist," his condescending smile sending shivers up the girl's spine.

"You're a waste. Of a human and an exorcist."

She turned her head away from the scene, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. To think her own brother would-

" Let's get stronger together, Benio," he had said, a stubborn will in his voice.

"And then let's go to the island together."

She smiled, her hands now mobile. She reached out to him, as his face vanished into thin air.

"To me," a cheery voice said, suddenly turning into a much darker one. She recognized it.

"Exorcists who can't use their spiritual powers are nothing but trash."

It was Arima-sama.

Benio clenched her fists in frustration over how true his words were and how much they had hurt her. Stung her, even.

" I'm glad I was chosen to be a twin star exorcist," his words from that beautiful day reverberated through the emptiness of her soul. His voice was gentle, like the cool winter breeze.

"That I was able to meet you, Benio."

The ebony haired girl folded her hands over her chest, tears of happiness falling down her eyes. In a flash of sudden light, the entire place was illuminated.

"I was glad too.." she said through sobs, floating down on the observable ground below.

"Thank you so much, Rokuro," she said, wiping her tears, her face breaking into a large smile.

She was free

"I love you."

* * *

"Shimon?" The blonde girl called out softly, stitching new clothes for the children who had requested her so sweetly.

"Hmm?" The boy answered, holding plates in his hand that he had helped clean after his family members had come along to meet Mayura and had ended up making a mess.

They ate like freakin' monsters.

"I'm really worried about Rokuro.."

Shimon stopped in his tracks. He looked at the girl who was lost deep in her thoughts.

"Uh huh.." he replied, sounding completely uninterested.

Mayura stood up, clapping her hand and muttering a small 'alright!' under her breath.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, standing in her way. He didn't like her reaction at all.

"I'm going to go and check on Rokuro." She said, picking up her haori that was hanging on the handle of a chair.

Shimon grit his teeth unconsciously, annoyed beyond his own limit.

"Why," he asked,the usual tone of his voice dropping dangerously.

"Why is it always Rokuro?"

Mayura looked up to the boy, whose eyes seemed to be burning in anger.

"W-what do you mean?" She said, taking a step back.

"Rokuro this, Rokuro that! You've been going on about the same thing for the past few days."

Mayura's eyes widened. Who was this person? She had thought their friendship had deepened over the past few days.

Then why was this happening?

"Isn't that obvious?" Mayura said softly. "We're childhood friends, aren't we?"

"Is that all?" Shimon said, shutting his eyes and bending his head downwards. He didn't know why he was being so unreasonable. It wasn't like him at all! He didn't like himself!

But at that moment all he felt was heart broken.

And broken hearts can shoot bleeding arrows.

"I beg your pardon?" Mayura asked, confused.

"I'm asking," he said not looking up, his voice now so low, that Mayura could barely hear it.

"Is that really all you think of him?"

Mayura stared at the older boy, her jaw dropping in surprise.

He was right, Shimon was right.

Since she was a child, Mayura had always adored Rokuro, loved him even. She had harboured feelings for him all this while.

Then why, why did it feel so wrong now?

Mayura's heart squeezed in her chest,and without her realising it, a tear slipped down the side of her face.

Shimon looked up, his eyes widening. What had he just said?

He never meant to. He never meant to see her like that.

The horrified expression still on his face, Shimon backed away, then bowing ever so slightly before her, he said, "I'm sorry. I crossed the line."

But as he walked past her, Mayura turned around and abruptly screamed, "NO!"

Shimon stopped in his tracks.

What?

"No. You're wrong. You're..." she put her hand over her mouth, now a surge of tears falling down her face.

"Wrong about what?" Shimon asked, without turning around.

"I don't know..." she whispered through her sobs.

"Huh?"

"I don't know!" The blonde screamed, her eyes squeezing shut in despair.

"I don't understand my own feelings anymore. I was always in love with Rokuro, ever since I was a child,"

Shimon squeezed his eyes shut. These were the exact words he never wanted to hear.

"But," Mayura continued, throwing the cloth in her hand on the floor, and clenching her head in her hands.

"I don't know why, I see someone else now where I should see Rokuro. I think more and more about someone I shouldn't be thinking about. I want to be with someone who probably doesn't even understand!"

She looked like a mess, tears gushing out of her red eyes, her hair standing up in all directions. She probably looked like a ghost.

But he'd seen her worse.

"Who?" Shimon asked.

Mayura looked up at him, tears still at the corner of her eyes. Shimon turned around to face her, now slowly walking to where she was standing rooted to the ground.

"Who is that 'someone', Mayura?" The way he called her name sent a wave of shock up her body.

The girl fiddled with her fingers, looking away from the boy's gaze.

She mustered up the courage and uttered the words that Shimon had wanted to hear the most, for the longest time now.

"You."

The older boy stared at the girl, his mouth falling open.

Mayura peeked at the boy slowly, worried about the silence.

Well, it was natural, she thought. She had said something completely outrageous.

Before she could apologize however, the boy spoke.

" You say you don't understand why? " . Mayura quietly nodded her head, scared to open her mouth, more appropriately, at what would probably come out of it.

Shimon looked lost in his thoughts for a second and then, gaining his composure, he looked straight in her eyes.

"Mayura," he said, his usual calm back. But there was something else in it. A slight increase in confidence?

"Yes?" The girl replied hurriedly, hoping he wasn't about to tell her off.

"Hold these."

Shimon handed the plates to the surprised girl, who took them in her hand,trying to retain her balance.

By the time she regained her balance however, the boy had edged closer, now a few centimeters away from her.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked, the plates shaking due to her trembling hands.

Shimon held her chin, lifting it up to his level, where she had no choice but to look into his ocean like eyes, which at that moment looked like they were exploring the depths of her soul.

Mayura's grip on the plates instinctively tightened and her lower lip quivered.

"Helping you figure out." He whispered one last time, before crashing his lips to hers.

Mayura had no time to ponder over the situation.

The girl melted into the kiss. She responded almost immediately surprising even herself. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips softer than she could have imagined. He tasted tentatively with his tongue, and Mayura opened her mouth with a low moan.

She was embarrassed, embarrassed beyond belief. But hell, it felt so good.

By the time Shimon pulled away,the girl was left longing for more. She kept her eyes closed for two seconds, collecting the parts of her brain that had scattered all over the place.

A hue of red spread throughout her cheeks as they burned from embarrassment.

Shimon pulled her closer to him, putting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes, a content sigh escaping his mouth.

Mayura did the same, still unable to get her head round the situation.

Had they just...? Did this mean...?

" Do you know why I handed those plates over to you?" He whispered, his gentle voice tugging at her heart strings .

"Why?" She whispered back, finally having regained her voice.

He grinned, kissing her forehead, softly nibbling at her ear and looked her in the eyes. Every wall he had built around himself for the past 18 years of his life fell apart in front of this woman.

He smiled at her, marvelling at her beauty, her flushed expression threatening to push him off the edge.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth her soft breath brought him and whispered to her,

"So that you can't run away."

Mayura chuckled, the effects of his kiss still lingering, all her nerve endings giddy in excitement.

He had come into her life like a storm, and maybe that was exactly what she needed. A storm to wash away all her fears, her weaknesses, her pain. A storm that raged in her mind's palace.

 _To_ _be able to feel so deeply for someone._

All the while she thought she was confused over her behavior, before realising her own feelings, she has already fallen.

This forever annoyed, stern, cold faced, motion sick boy who hated impotent people and yet he was gentle, sweet, extremely caring and over possessive was the man she was in love with.

Ah, Mayura thought, smiling to herself.

 _I will never be able to love like this again._

* * *

I hope you liked it! As always, i'm looking forward to your reviews. Thank you for reading. I love y'all


	9. Chapter Nine

Hello people!

Okay firstly, sorry for the delay! I've been so busy organising my parents 23rd Wedding anniversary, that I've barely had anytime to breathe.

Thanks to the anonymous person that commented on my previous chapter, I finally got my ass moving. (Excuse my language.)

Also, as I have already mentioned once before and im mentioning once more, THIS STORY IS PURELY MY CREATION. The few characters you see ( Raijin and Suiren) are my creation and are not in the Canon plotline. As you'll progress, reading the new chapters that keep updating of the manga, you'll realise that my story and the original differ greatly. Well that is a given, since I don't share a brain with Sukeno-sensei (unfortunately).

Having said this, I really hope you like my story and the way I've interpreted the Canon plotline (sorry if it's a little immature). Thank you for reading and giving me your beautiful reviews and PM's!

I love y'all!

* * *

 _You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you._

* * *

 **Chapter 9: This** **Love**

"Now try to concentrate all your power in the palm of your left hand."

All the kids raise their hands in front of them, palms facing upwards. Rokuro watched closely as thin strings of light began to surround their tiny hands, and he smiled.

They were fast learners, most of them. It didn't take him more than one time to teach.

He turned to look at the little girl, his actual reason to start teaching, but she seemed to be struggling.

She was very good at grasping, but she seemed to be scared.

Rokuro took out a pen and drew a small circle in the centre of her palm, kneeling next to her.

"Imagine this in your mind," Rokuro said, shutting his eyes.

" Imagine the dimensions, the shape, the size, the feel of it on your palm and imagine yourself in the centre of it."

He then opened his eyes to look at the girl who watched him in focused attention.

"And then open your eyes."

She nodded her head.

Rokuro smiled at her, ruffling her hair and hoisting himself off the ground.

The girl did as he said, imagining the circle with everything it was. Rokuro watched as her eyes that were shut in concentration now looked straight at him.

Entire bundle fulls of spiritual power accumulated near her palm, bursting into light. Rokuro was dumbstruck.

She was talentless? She had no power?

What sort of nonsense had everybody been spouting ?

"I did it! I did it!" She screamed in joy, hugging Rokuro's legs. The boy patted her head and she smiled up at him.

"Teacher! Now what do we do?" Tatsuya, who had mastered the technique in his first try said. He seemed to have the best control over his power.

"This technique is used to make you seem more powerful," Rokuro began explaining.

"Talisman's are just pieces of paper that we put our spiritual powers into. At the end of the day, what matters is the users strength. But, this trick can help even the weakest exorcist to produce a strong weapon."

All the children listened in anticipation.

"What this technique does is simple. We humans have five senses, right? At the time of a battle, there are some senses that do not need any activation. So what the brain does is, it blocks the use of those senses, such as taste and smell and marking them as unneeded ones, relocates all the energy needed to other parts. But we exorcists, go one step ahead."

He could actually see the twinkle in the children's eyes as he continued talking.

"We can control our powers on our own free will, so we relocate our spiritual powers to parts of our body that need it, instead of a complete distribution."

Rokuro pulled out a talisman from the holder, and now showing them as he pushed all the strength from his senses, touch,smell,taste, colour vision. He needed none.

The kids watched in amazement as all his strength gathered on the talisman, shining an electric blue.

Now turning to the punching bag in the room, Rokuro chanted,

"Banma Chouboku, kyu kyu no ritsuryo!"

Light shot out of his hand, striking the punching bag down in one go.

"You see?" He turned to the kids who were clapping their hands at him. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassement.

"Now you try." Rokuro said, as he walked to the punching bag and straightened it.

"Alright!" He heard all the children yell in unison as the pulled out their respective talismans.

Before they could proceed however, a knock on the door interrupted them.

Pushing the door open, Raijin entered the room.

"I'm sorry to disturb your session, but I have an important matter to discuss with Rokuro-kun." All the kids looked disappointed as Rokuro walked out of the room with the elder man.

"What's the matter?" Rokuro asked, as Raijin stopped by the edge of the wooden ledge.

"Arima-sama has summoned you to the Exorcist Union."

Rokuro raised an eyebrow. What would he want now?

"It seems to be a matter of utmost importance, Rokuro-kun," Raijin said, seemingly worried.

"I suggest you leave right away."

Rokuro had no idea why, but he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

"I understand."

* * *

"Sayo nee-chan, that's cheating!" The little boy yelled, pointing at the girl's playing cards. She had picked two, instead of one.

"It's called tactics! " she said, pulling his cheek as the boy struggled to get her hand off of him.

Mayura giggled as she watched the children in the room trying to help their little friend to pry the elder girl off.

It was already the Hanami festival, and the Ikaruga's had invited Mayura over to go flower viewing with them. The flower viewing itself, ofcourse was tomorrow, but the girl had decided to stay overnight, so they could all go together first thing in the morning.

Upon her arrival in the evening, the children had insisted on her watch them play cards and she obliged, not having anything else to do.

"Mayura! Help me!" Sayo yelled from somewhere underneath the children that sat atop her, her hand the only thing Mayura could see.

"You brought this on yourself Sayo-chan," Mayura said, stifling a laugh.

"Bye!"

The blonde slid the door open and walked out into the dark moonless night. Bright stars lit the sky like a thousand lanterns hanging above her and a soft wind blew by, her hair that was now longer than before swayed with it.

What a beautiful night.

She stood by the Sakura tree that Shimon had planted and nurtured, thinking to herself, that this was probably what started it all.

"I was told you were with the kids,"

Mayura turned around, now looking at the salmon haired boy behind her, his eyebrow raised in question.

"What are you doing here?"

Mayura hadn't seen the him for two weeks, him having been sent to Tokyo for some work. She had so much to ask him, about her father, her mother, her grandfather and...

Benio.

But for this moment - their moment of reunion after two weeks away from each other - she thought she'd let in slide.

"Admiring the night sky." She said, her back to him.

Shimon looked at the girl, a smile grazing his lips. It hadn't been a long time since their confession, but the awkward air that had been around them for the few days after it had now completely vanished.

Sure, the sky was beautiful, so was the tree before him, he thought to himself.

But none were as beautiful as her.

As they both stood on the grass that had formed a carpet for them, a tune began to fill the air.

They both turned around to look at the house, from where it seemed to be playing and soon, beautiful words accompanied it.

 _There you stand, opened heart,_

 _Opened doors,_

 _Full of life, with a world,_

 _That's wanting more._

Mayura's eyes widened in recognition. "This song!" She turning around.

"I love this song!"

Her soft blonde hair fluttered in the wind, the light coming from the house bringing her sharp features to life. Her eyes shined brightly, like burning sapphires. With the beautiful picture that nature had painted behind her, Mayura looked like a work of art.

One that Shimon couldn't resist.

 _But I can see, when the lights,_

 _Start to fade,_

 _The day is done and your smile,_

 _Has gone away._

His legs moving without him realising, Shimon now stood in front of the girl, lost almost as if in a trance. The girl glanced at the boy, who was just about a feet away from her.

Shimon bowed his head in front of her, extending one hand to her and the other hand placed over his heart.

"May I have this dance?"

Mayura's hands shot up to cover her mouth to hide a gasp that was certain to escape had she not acted quickly.

Shimon looked up at her and smiled sweetly, his eyes melting away every doubt she had in her mind.

 _Let me raise you up,_

 _Let me be your love._

She put her hand in his and he softly tugged at it, pulling her to him. Mayura let him as his hand circled round her waist, one of her own hands on his shoulder and the other in his grasp. Together, they danced to the music, their feet in perfect sync to the beating of their hearts.

 _May I hold you, as you fall to sleep,_

 _When the world is closing in,_

 _And you can't breathe here._

As the song progressed, a small smile to form on Mayura's lips. He was perfect.

His eyes, blue as spring rain, were deep and irresistible as they looked into her own. For not a single moment had they broken eye contact, it almost felt as if their souls were whispering sweet words to each other.

Shimon released Mayura's hand and placed his now free one on the small of her back, pulling her even closer. Mayura's hand circled around his neck, his eyes now looking deeply into hers. Their bodies shuddered at the intimacy that the dance brought, enjoying the moving of their feet in tiny circles.

 _May I love you,_

 _May I be your shield,_

 _When no one can be found,_

 _May I lay your down._

Mayura put her own thin feet on the boy's larger ones, now pushing off the ground, her entire weight on him. Her lips were mere inches away from his beautiful ones. Shimon smiled at her, his grip on her back tightening. She returned his affectionate action by reaching up and meeting his lips.

The song continued on in the background and they kept moving to the tune, but the words that it sang seemed to be of no importance to them as they spoke to each other through the voice of their hearts.

And it spoke three words.

 _I love you_

As the children watched, giggling at the two young adults display their love for each other, Sayo wiped tears from the corner of her eyes.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

Rokuro stopped, sighed and pushed the door open. It had been quite a while since he had gone the Union and he didn't particularly like the place, given all the scrutinizing gazes he received.

"Rokuro-kun!" A familiar voice sang from the far corner of the room. He turned to look at the man, with no display of expressions.

"Perverted underwear man.."

Arima walked to the centre of the room, to his desk, and sitting on top of it, he now looked at the younger boy in front of him, his usual playful smile on his face.

He looked as normal as he always did, his long silver hair tied in a ponytail that rested on his back, his cobalt eyes gazing at Rokuro.

How this man went from an innocent rabbit to a venomous snake, he was yet to understand.

"Come now! Don't I get a better greeting? Do you dislike me so much?" He said pouting, as dramatic as could be.

Rokuro rolled his eyes in frustration. "I apologize if I haven't made than obvious already." He replied.

"How rude," Arima said, playing with the cord of his phone.

"After I brought news for you from home too!"

Rokuro's eyes widened and he walked to where Arima was, pulling him down to eye level by the collar.

"What news? Is everyone safe? What about," Rokuro said, pausing to take a deep breath in.

"What about Benio?"

Arima's playful expression now morphed into a more evil one. Rokuro released him and moved two steps behind.

"That's exactly why I called you here. You see," Aroma said, straightening his messed up robe.

"Benio-kun has disappeared."

Rokuro stared at Arima, his mouth falling open.

 _Disappeared?_

Shutting his mouth without saying a word, Rokuro turned around and walked back to the door.

"Where are you going Rokuro-kun?"

The boy stopped walking at turned to look at the older man. He was the strongest, the best exorcist out there and yet all he ever did was sit and play people like puppets.

Arima looked at the boy whose crimson orbs were burning like flames.

"To find her."

Arima's laughter echoed in the empty room and Rokuro clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch the man in his face.

"Save her?" He said laughing. "You just keep proving to her how useless she is!"

Rokuro turned around to face the older man. You could see the steam leaving his head, his anger burning anything that dared to stand in his way.

"Don't forget your reason for coming here, Rokuro-kun," The older man said, walking to the younger boy, in a serious demeanor.

"I didn't bring you here just to play house."

Rokuro gritted his teeth so hard, it almost felt as if they'd turn to powder.

"If you dont let her find herself, it'll be you she'll blame all her life."

Rokuro knew, he knew Arima was right, he knew his anger was useless. He could do nothing to help. Benio wasn't the type of girl who would take his help if he offered.

He had to trust her, she was a fighter.

She wouldn't give up.

But how could he help the fear that was engulfing him? She was powerless when he last saw her, what if someone had kidnapped her? What if she was in danger?

"Don't look so worried, Rokuro-kun, that girl is more capable than you think she is." Arima said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I know! I know, but.." He had no words, how could he express what he felt? How could he possibly explain the pain of his heart squeezing in his chest?

Arima sighed, walking to the large window that was situated in the east corner of the room, from where nearly the entire island was visible.

"Shall I tell you a story, then? To ease your worried heart? " He said, folding his hands behind his back and looking out at the thousands of citizens living their everyday lives.

Rokuro looked at him in question.

"You've met Raijin, the substitute head of the Adashino household, I believe?"

The boy nodded his head. Come to think of it, Raijin had once mentioned that he was a Youkai, not a human nor a shikigami.

Who was he exactly?

"Then allow me tell you the story behind how Raijin came to the Adashino house."

* * *

Thank you so much for reading. I just had to put in that MayuShi moment because I love the song. For anyone who is curious, the songs name is May I by Trading Yesterday.

Thank you for reading, looking forward to your reviews. I love y'all!


	10. Chapter Nine and a half

Hello everyone!

Before all my useless talks, I'd like to point out that this chapter is a view into RokuBeni's life after living together for a year and not a continuation of the story. I wanted to rewind for you to suffer- I mean, look forward to the reunion *evil laugh*

Ofcourse, they didn't know the trials they'd have to face in the future, but you do! *nudge nudge*

Oh and before I forget, if you haven't ready noticed, I've written another story for this manga which you can probably view if you go to the page or click on my link!

I hope you enjoy this and I'm looking forward to your reviews! I love y'all!

* * *

 ** _Change_**

Rokuro eyed his assignment, scratching his head in frustration, unable to conjure up any ideas to get it done. In contrast to Mayura's 'Sports around the world' and Benio's 'Leaders of tomorrow ', his topic was infinitely more difficult and completely obscure.

He spinned around in his rotating chair, attempting to get the gears of his brain to work, which it did not, ofcourse.

But it made him question; apart from them having been promoted a year, what had really changed in Rokuro's life?

And the answer was simple:

 **Nothing**.

Life for him was as chaotic as ever, shuffling school, work and training, being dead tired by the end of the day, sometimes sleeping with an empty stomach and sometimes just stuffing bare minimum food to quieten the rumbling.

There wasn't any major difference in the people he met either, Mayura being a regular visitor to their mansion, 'protecting Benio's chastity' being her reason at which Rokuro had always rolled his eyes.

Seigen dropped by now and then to check on their progress, not that he ever vocalized his intentions. His 'I don't give a shit' attitude aside, Seigen was a very caring man, more so in Rokuro's case, being the one who had found him and raised him since he was a child.

They went by to the Seika dorm every other day, meeting Ryogo, Atsushi and Shinnosuke, who would either be lazing by the diner, or- in the event that Seigen was visiting- working their asses off.

And Jisamma as per usual sat sipping his coffee, entertaining the ever annoying Baaya, who would chase the boy with a laddle every time he left Benio alone.

As for Rokuro's life at home...well, that was another story altogether. It hadn't changed one bit in the past year; food included, much to the his chagrin.

And every time he snacked on junk, she would admonish him.

"You'll turn into a pig."

Every man has his pride and she tended to hurt it more often than not and he didn't like it one bit, especially since it came from someone he was trying so hard to impress.

Benio was quite hard to please, any progress in training being just 'decent' to her and there was always something better to achieve. He had to admit though, she was half the reason he had worked so hard, but a 'well done' once in a while wouldn't hurt either.

Living with Benio was a disaster, her being extremely messy and queen-like, unable to do half the things every person her age could, but their patterned life had dealt with that too, given the daily and weekly duties they shared, assigned based on a time table they had chalked out.

In all their time together, the duo lived a settled and routined life, much like an old married couple as Ryogo loved to point out every single time.

So exactly what did this assignment demand ?

"Rokuro!" The boy snapped out of his thoughts as the soft feminine voice of his partner called him from below the steps, her footfalls making the floorboard creak.

"It's time for dinner!"

While the girl's attempts at cooking were respectable, they often ended in disaster. _It's the thought that counts,_ Rokuro had told himself, but his body said otherwise.

The crimson eyed teenager sighed, putting down the pen he had been impatiently twirling in between his fingers on the blank page. It was her turn to make food that day to his horror and he braced himself for yet another sleep full of 'drowning in curry' nightmares.

What met his eyes however was a pleasant surprise, catching him completely off guard.

His mouth watered in response to the fragrance of the food that now circulated in the giant living room.

In front of him, on their oversized dining table that was apparently meant for two, were a variety of ingredients on individual trays, kept in succession, leading to flipped pairs of buns on the last of them, fried meat patties on the one preceding it.

Hamburgers.

"Wh-when I asked Nagitsuji-san what your favorite dish is," Benio stuttered, evidently scared to hear the boy's reaction. The colour of her face transformed from her usual wheatish complexion to a bright red, putting even the sky at dawn to shame.

"He said it was a hamburger."

Even after he had mocked her cooking skills time and time again, she never backed down, proving just how stubborn she was.

Smiling, Rokuro seated himself, pulling another chair beside his, motioning her to do the same.

As they ate in silence, an occasional 'this is delicious!' coming from the amazed boy, Benio hid her burnt hands from his view.

 _He didn't need to see_ , she thought to herself.

 _His smile was medicine enough._

 _'Happy One Year of living together '_ the raven haired beauty whispered to herself, ignoring the fact that he didn't remember.

He had the memory of a goldfish, after all.

Rokuro never actually got down to finishing the assignment that night, the book that would be lying open on his desk till the day of submission blank, but he definitely learned something of much more value in his life.

It had always been the small things that had mattered, the little things they did for each other, from occasionally passing on tasks, to their brilliant teamwork while on a mission.

They had no need to rush, he thought, cleaning up the mess she had made of the kitchen in her efforts to cook another mindblowing meal for him.

Baby steps suited them just fine.

 _After all, with her by his side, he had a lifetime to live the change._

* * *

 _Don_ e! I just wanted to keep it short and simple and I hope it served the purpose!

Thank you so much for reading and I'm looking forward to your reviews. I love y'all


	11. Chapter Ten

Hey guys! I-I'm sorry :( It's been a loooooong while since I've uploaded, so here you go. I've been uploading one-shots on my story "Stars of the day" so please follow and favorite it too. Requests are welcome Anyway, let's get started! Thank you for reading, looking forward to your reviews and I love y'all!

P.S Zueriou thank you sweetheart, I'm glad you reminded me.

* * *

 _"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Training**

She was exhausted.

Benio had been walking for endless hours, the long halls now progressively narrowing and winding. She had to feel the walls for a sense of direction.

The lost child had no idea where she was headed nor what to expect, the only thing she knew was that she had to make it out of here.

And soon.

The situation, lonely halls, silence reminded her of the times her mother had trained to channel her spirit pressure as a child, to relocate them to a particular area. But at this moment, the emerald eyed girl was trapped in her own mind's labyrinth with no spiritual powers whatsoever.

 _Would it work?_

Benio halted her movement, deciding to take the risk, shutting her eyes and imagining the flow of energy, even her very own blood, relocate to a particular point at the core of her being. She could feel it flowing through her veins, her arteries, every path in her body heading straight to where the girl had wished, repeating the words " _I'm not afraid_ " in her head to keep herself going.

And as Benio slowly opened her eyes, she could feel a difference around her, a different aura encapsulating her. Above the dark haired girl, something hovered. A strange black box floated down to where she stood, stopping at eye level.

And the sound of footsteps was audible.

Benio turned her attention to the stranger walking towards her, now on her guard. But how could any other person be here?

As the presence edged closer and closer, Benio finally began to take in her appearance.

Silken white locks cascaded down her back, charcoal black skin with cracks in places calling which scary was an understatement. Big black eyes, the myrtle irises of which remained hollow staring deeply into her soul. A pronounced yellow kuji kiri, the mark of the impurities was stamped across her chest and her legs sported black fangs. Out of all her terrifying features, there was a specific one that made Benio recoil in horror.

 _She looked just like her._

"So you have finally come," the monster said in her eerie voice, stopping at a meter's distance from the paralysed girl.

Benio's hands trembled, and yet she took a stance and bravely kept uttering the same words in her mind.

The creature before her cracked a smile and walked towards her, spreading it's arms wide, her eyes tracing every corner of their surroundings.

"Welcome to the inner sanctum of your soul!"

Benio pursed her lips that by now had lost complete colour into a thin line, analysing the creature again and again.

"Who are you?!" She finally asked, mustering the courage, stuttering, but attempting to mask her fear.

Even Kamui's entrance into her soul struck her as strange. The creature looked at Benio in amusement.

"How can any impurity be at the core of my soul?"

"He wasn't **at** the core of your soul," a laugh escaped her lips.

"I **allowed** him in."

 _Allowed_?

" _Who am I_ , you ask?"

The creature pulled a dagger from somewhere, but Benio didn't question out of surprise. Unsheathing it, she placed it on her arm and in one swift moment, slid it right across.

Blood began gushing out. Yet,Benio's wide eyes were not at the creature's action, but at the site of blood trickling down her very own hand.

Licking the metallic fluid that was dripping down her fingers, the creature smiled.

" **I am you.** "

* * *

"What?!"

Mayura paced to and fro biting her nails in worry. Shimon sat by the diner, his eyes squeezed shut. He had just delivered news of her beloved friend's disappearence so it was only natural. In all honesty, he had expected a more violent outburst but was relieved when the only thing squeaking was the floor underneath her feet.

"But she was so weak...What if-"

Mayura slapped a hand over her mouth, restricting it from wording out her thoughts in fear that they would actually come true.

A hand rested on her shoulder, his warmth spreading throughout her body, calming her senses.

"She'll be alright," Shimon said pulling the worried girl to him after having noticed her quivering lips.

"She wasn't called a prodigy for nothing."

Mayura nodded into the salmon haired boy's chest, his fingers absent-mindedly drawing circles on Mayura's back in nervous energy. Both understood their partner's fears and silently supported each other.

That's how their relationship worked.

But at that very moment, both their fears were the same, just one name floating through their minds.

 _ **Rokuro**_.

* * *

 _"Let me tell you how Raijin came to the Adashino house."_

Arima's words rang in Rokuro's ears, but his mind had already wandered into the very depths of Raijin's behavior.

He seemed strangely aloof and almost all of the members of the family were apprehensive to him, as if unable to raise a voice against him at all, as if his words were absolute, begrudgingly so.

"Close your eyes, Rokuro-kun," Arima walked to the boy who's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. The silver haired man put his palm over his crimson orbs and Rokuro felt himself slip into a deep sleep.

"I'm taking you back, 14 years into the past."

* * *

"Hurry, Hyuuga-kun! There's no time!" Saki rushed to the cupboard, pulling out all her weapons as Hyuuga collected their talismans.

An impurity enroachment had struck the island, breaking down the strong barrier that had been placed there leading to a death toll of 40 exorcists in just 7 minutes.

As they opened the door to run out, Saki felt her feet being grabbed. She noticed her little 2 year old daughter looking up at her with big bottle green eyes resting on her puffy cheeks.

"Mommy," she said, now wrapping her tiny body around the older woman's leg.

"No go."

The mother bent down, cradling her daughter in her arms. In this state of emergency, Saki couldn't even tell if she would ever be home again. She hugged her child a tear slipping down her eye.

"It will be alright."

"Saki-sama!" One of the other Adashino family exorcist cried out, bringing the woman back to the present.

She carried the child out, handing her to the Adashino women. She kissed the child's forehead one last time and then with a solemn expression glanced at the lady holding her.

"Take care of my daughter."

Saki and Hyuuga rushed out the gate followed by a handful of people, not sure if they'd see their loved ones ever again.

It had been hardly fifteen minutes, but the baby wouldn't stop crying, writhing in the arms of whoever held her and wanting to leave the house. The women struggled to keep her still, but alas to no avail. She stumbled out of the main house and into the woods behind it.

The women rushed after her screaming, trying to grab her, but were held back by the men.

"That forest is-" They attempted to argue, but were quick to realise it was futile.

"Who cares what happens to the child?" One of them said,eyeing her crawling into the deep wilderness.

"Our child would be the next heir if she was no more."

Unable to argue with them, the women cried as they watched their niece disappear down the path inside the forest.

 _The forest of the dead_.

Twigs cracked under the child's body as she stumbled into the deepest interiors of the wild, the only time she stopped being the moment her hands fell on something unfamiliar, something that wasn't land.

Something that wasn't earthly.

Sensing the movement of life in the forest, the giant creature began to move, it's large body shaking every tree, causing the pressure in the air to suddenly drop.

As the large creature adjusted to its new surroundings, Benio watched in silence, playing with the few broken branches near her tiny feet.

"How many centuries have passed since I had last set my eyes on a human?"

His voice boomed like thunder on a stormy night, slightly cracking. A large saffron coloured mound lifted off the ground, soil that had rested underneath it the same as it was centuries ago. Trees were felled by the force of his tails, all nine of which were ablaze, flames lighting each one of them. Ebony bead like eyes looked down at the child, who clapped her hands at the sight before her.

She didn't look fearful at all.

"What brings you here, Human?"

Benio burst into giggles, grabbing his forelimb like a mother to a child, something he hadn't felt in ages.

"I see," He rubbed his snout on her tiny face as she grabbed it in her little hands.

"You cannot form words."

Cries from the land reverberated through the the forest, reaching the child and the her trembling form, he raised his head to the moon, a low growl escaping his mouth.

"I cannot help you," He shook his fur, revealing the shackles tying him down, that had dug into his skin creating painful scars. He had long since given up trying to escape the chains that bound him to the Earth.

10 centuries ago, he had been confined in isolation to the area for his betrayal, yet he regretted nothing.

"These binds cannot be removed. I am bound for eternity."

After all, a 1000 years ago, he had been held down by enchantments that were unbreakable, even for the most commendable exorcists.

The child crawled over his body to where they were and grabbed the links of the chain in her tiny hands, analysing them. To the creature's amazement, they slowly began to disintegrate turning into nothing but ashes. As the force of her spirit pressure began to elevate, it seeped through his skin, healing the injuries inflicted on him in battle centuries ago.

"Who are you, child?" The beast now regained it's strength, standing on all fours as if reborn, shaking off all that bound him to the land as a traitor.

As he looked into the depths of her emerald irises, he found the answer he had been searching for.

"I see, you have returned."

He could hear her thoughts due to the energy transfer and they pleaded him to do just one favour.

 _Save those in trouble._

He bent his head before her, his eyes shut, pure respect resonating through every living cell in his body.

"Your wish is my command."

Saki and Hyuuga managed to ward off their sixth C class impurity, but their stamina had dropped quite a bit. Nobody average or below could survive the miasma that had flooded the island.

"Oi, don't drop now, Adashino!" A loud gruffy voice said, striking an impurity with his long range weapon.

"Had children and so you lost your touch?" He laughed heartily, almost drowning out the cries of the impurities.

"Shut up, Ioroi," A bubblegum pink haired woman tut tutted in her low voice, kicking impurities around like on a school football ground. "You're being more annoying than these monsters."

"Hasn't he always been this loud mouthed?" Golden locks whipped across the land, guns shooting bullets at the pesky creatures.

"Can't argue with that." Sky blue eyes gazed at all the impurities surrounding him, dragon scales spanning elbow down terminating in beastly claws.

"Jeez, you guys," a raven haired man with an annoyed expression along with an abacas jumped across the field.

"You're not school kids, ya know!"

Even with the combined powers of all the 12 heavenly commanders, they were falling short of resources. If this carried on, the battle would come to an end once all the talismans were over.

Neither side was willing to back down.

"Is there nothing we can do to stop this?!"

As the battle progressed, slowly, one by one S class and S class impurities began to appear.

 **The Basara.**

Ten shadows were seen, and all the warriors froze. This would be their end. They were already being overpowered by sheer numbers, the addition of stronger ones would result in a massacre.

But before any other movement was made, a loud howl pierced the silence, taking all of them by surprise.

Fire lining each paw, every tail ablaze and eyes relaying the determination of his spirit, the beast pounced on the impurities, ripping them out of existence.

" This creature.." Arima stepped forward, his mouth agape and eyes widening at the site before him.

"The Thunder Fox."

Gasps were heard from everywhere, but it could not erase the moment. And out of all the spectators, only one caught something unusual.

" **BENIO**!"

Heads turned to look at Adashino Saki, who noticed the back of the beast, where sat her 2 year old daughter.

Hyuuga was about to attack, when Arima restricted his movement with a binding spell.

"What are you doing?!" Hyuuga exclaimed, trying to break out of the binds.

"Look," the azurette commander Taijo cried out.

"The hole is closing!"

As they watched all the Basara walk away, they eyed the beast who had made no move since the initial attack.

Above him, Benio sat, her hands parallel to her body, a centimeter away from her chest, chanting words the likes of which none of the exorcists had ever heard.

 **The words of Yin**.

As the hole was completely sealed and the rest of the impurities were destroyed, Hyuuga broke the binds and ran to where his daughter was.

"Benio!" He screamed, standing next to the giant creature. He looked down at Hyuuga and then at Benio giggling Turning to face the father who prepared his weapons, he lowered his head.

White light engulfed the creature and when it dispersed, out stepped a man, turquoise coloured orbs watching them and dusty blond hair fluttering in the wind, a simple white yukata covering his body.

He looked so...Human.

Saki ran to where he stood, snatching Benio from his hands, kissing her forehead as the child continued to giggle.

"Are you...the fox youkai?" Arima asked.

He turned to look at Arima, a smile on his face.

"You are his descendants, are you not?"

Silence prevailed.

"You mean, Abe no Seimei?" The man looked nostalgic a bittersweet smile on his features.

"I haven't heard that name in ages."

With slow footsteps, he walked to the Adashino's who flinched but were ready to fight.

Kneeling before them, the man spoke.

"I owe her my life," He said, addressing Benio with respect like none other.

"I shall never leave her side again."

Nobody questioned his words, or the "again" in them, but they certainly never forgot that day nor his contribution. When Benio woke up the next morning, she seemed to have no memory of the events. Even on meeting Raijin in human form, she recognized him immediately as if he'd been by her side all her life. Instead of calling him by what most others did, she chose another name, one name only she would address him by.

 **Kinako**.

The entire situation was very unusual. Arima had granted the youkai permission to live as a human, granted that he would never attack them, which he swore.

But the hostility he felt emanating from the members of the Adashino house never left his mind, even as he realised that Saki and Hyuuga were clueless to this behavior. And he realised that this hostile attitude was towards their 2 year old child as well.

He was her guardian, her protector, her everything. And to him, she was his world. He loved her like a father loved his child and the Adashino pair would freely go for duties without any worry as to where their child was.

But his very existence was a threat to most, who believed he should have died all those years ago. He held secrets like none other so many were just buried in him,he had seen the world for a thousand years and that only increased the fear in all their hearts. So he had sworn to never leave the Adashino house, a promise he had kept for 14 years.

But this very promise was the reason he could never rush to her side,to lend her a shoulder to cry on.

And sometimes, he regretted that.

Rokuro, who had been watching all of this as if in the centre of it glanced at his _could be - would be_ wife as a child, smiling and giggling even in the face of danger. He just hoped she was safe right now. How he wished she was where he could never get his eyes off her!

While he was lost in his thoughts, everything around him began to fade.

Fade to white.

"Oi, underwear man? Where are you?"

Rokuro spinned in all direction, trying to find a trace of anything...alive.

"He isn't here."

Rokuro turned around to face the stranger; long crimson hair fell down his back, his heterocolour eyes gazed at Rokuro with a smirk. He wore similar clothes to Shimon, only a bit...darker?

"There's nobody but me and you."

Rokuro positioned himself, ready to attack or defend depending on the situation.

"Who are you?!"

"Unomiya Tenma, Kijin of the 12 heavenly commanders," he said, suddenly vanishing from in front of the crimson eyed boy.

"The strongest exorcist."

Rokuro jumped forwards in surprise. In a millisecond, Tenma had vanished from in front of and appeared behind him.

But how?

" ' _How_ ', is what you're thinking, isn't it?" Tenma said smugly almost as if he'd read the younger boy's mind, which was ofcourse not true. He had only judged by Rokuro's expression.

"Consider yourself lucky, twerp. I'll teach you how."

The strongest exorcist of all. This boy. His opponent. **This boy**. Rokuro opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to register his situation.

"We have till the end of today in the real world, which would amount up to three days time in this plane of reality." Tenma played with a talisman in his hand, chanting words which dematerialized, leaving a timer in it's place.

72:00:00

"What happens if we cross the time limit?" Rokuro asked, still skeptical about the whole situation.

"We never return to our bodies and remain stuck in limbo forever," he said, now facing Rokuro who was growling in anger.

"Don't give me that crap! Get me out of here goddammit! Benio is.."

He was in this mess without a choice. Either he beats this boy and gets out or he stays stuck here forever. Tenma scowled. He knew the boy's situation was terrible and as much as he wished to help him, being kind was not the way out.

"The clock has begun to tick, Twin Star Twerp," Tenma watched Rokuro's hands reach for his talismans.

"Make it fast so I can go back and eat my prize dango."

 _This better be worth it._

* * *

And I'm done! Maybe this is just my infatuation with Tenma, but don't you think him teaching Rokuro would be awesome? Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to your reviews. I love y'all!


	12. Chapter 10 and a half

Hello Sweethearts! You're probably wondering how I updated so fast. Well, this is not a continuation. I had recieved a request from one of my readers for a ShiMayu story and this was the best I could come up with. And now to the important part.

 **WARNING : This chapter contains explicit/adult content. Please skip if you're a young reader or just don't enjoy it.**

That being said, enjoy!

Also, this occurs between the time frame of after the confession and before Shimon goes to Narukami.

* * *

 **Chapter 10.5: How deep is your love?**

"Otomi Mayura," The salmon haired boy hissed.

"If you break that, I will make you clean every hall in this house till I can see the ground clear as those glasses!"

Mayura giggled, continuing her journey down the halls and into every room all the while wearing his extra pair of glasses.

Shimon, or Suzaku of the twelve heavenly commanders as he was referred to by most on the island, had been enjoying a peaceful morning before Mayura had barged in without a prior notice catching the boy off guard.

Ofcourse, the blonde girl walking non chalantly into his house came as no surprise, seeing as she visited him more times than Sayo kissed the life sized picture of Rokuro up in her room.

 **Which was a lot.**

But what really had his lips twitching was the lack of any other family member in the mansion, given as everybody had headed to visit the shrine, an offer that Shimon had curtly declined.

He would rather get work done than go along with their extremely embarrassing singing competitions, generally revolving around who could out-sing the other, often receiving stares from most other people on the road.

Normally, Shimon would have asked her to leave, to choose a better time when everybody was home and causing a racket, something she enjoyed very much. But things were different now.

Maybe because he had carefully avoided the friend zone and landed straight into a mess called a relationship.

This was not to say that Shimon wasn't happy with his relationship, nor had it anything to do with Mayura's strange insults - well, the latter was annoying - but it had more to do with himself.

Shimon had always been proud of his "no emotion" work-face, something he had learnt from Seigen. It seemed the easiest way of getting things done and was admittedly very very cool.

But in the short while that Mayura had pushed past his stone walls, he had found himself strangely unaware of how to behave. He didn't know when to -or how to, for that matter - smile at her without banging his head against a wall in embarrassment.

 _Look before you leap_ , Seigen had taught him. This is what he got for not listening to him.

Mayura, who's gaze was fixed at Shimon's face looked confused at his varied change of expressions. He appeared less enthusiastic about her coming in every second day and she has begun to think herself a nuicanse.

But did that stop her from returning? **Nope**.

Shimon was a hard nut to crack, the deeper you delved, the more awkward he would get. Mayura wondered sometimes exactly how much of a normal eighteen year old boy's thoughts actually went through Shimon's brain, and she had settled on a particular number faster than she could blink her eye.

 _ **Zero. Nil. Nada. Zilch.**_

But she was absolutely wrong. Well, somewhat.

At a very young age, Shimon was coached by Seigen, who considered work more important than any other usual life lessons or...was just too embarassed to teach a young boy the ways of men.

The latter made more sense.

So it was only natural that Shimon understood nothing about boy's his age or the fact that the growing tension in the air as Mayura approached him wasn't due to her spiritual powers increasing, but his instincts trying to kick him in the face.

And Shimon chose to ignore it.

"You came here just yesterday..." He fidgeted with the scrolls in his hand, dropping them due to his very very shaky fingers.

"Yes," Mayura smiled sweetly, though it almost looked like it was forced.

"And it's a new day!"

Shimon just continued doing whatever he was doing - which was nothing - with the stacks of paper on his ground table, avoiding Mayura's gaze.

The blonde made herself home as usual on Shimon's mattress, picking up a book that was lying beside it.

The boy watched her turn pages from the corner of his eyes as she concentrated on the words that had been scribbled there. Most would wonder what she found so interesting in a half crumpled old tattering book - and he did too - but the girl had no need to answer.

The book was Shimon's daily journal, it had entries of everything from missions to duties to meetings catalogued perfectly in columns in scrawny hand writing. As for what she found interesting,the choice of words he'd use while addressing certain people and the way he would write about them.

The chief exorcist Arima, for example was addressed with a "sama" at the end which put him into a group of seniors, but this was where it was fun.

 _"Arima-sama wished to send me on a mission to Narukami prefecture. My duty was to lock the Twin Stars into a room."_

A few blots of ink proved his reluctance to write **"WHAT DOES HE TAKE ME FOR?"** Instead, it was completed on the line below.

 _"I declined."_

Perhaps it was how close she had been to him for the past few months, or the fact that his family often slipped embarassing stories about him, but Mayura had begun to see patterns in his behavior and she had not missed the change in his attitude towards her.

It irked her to no extent that she had no clue what ideas were spinning in that giant brain of his, but she could tell it wasn't anything comfortable.

Shimon restlessly moved from side to side, Mayura's lying form on his bed plastered in his mind. It had struck to him that she had begun to ease in his presence, no longer looking like a kitten in front of a tiger, but this was both bad and good.

Good because he was glad he could provide enough comfort for her to relax, but bad because his own instincts were spinning out of control.

Was this what his elder brother had told him about?

Since he had begun training, Shimon had no interest in anything that didn't have a kuji-kiri on it, so even thinking about himself now was strangely horrifying. And sureshot, his elder cousin Keiji had taken it upon himself to give Shimon "the talk" which had ended as soon as it began with a "this is unimportant" from the boy.

How he wished he had listened to the whole thing.

The boy who was lost in his thoughts, failed to notice Mayura had been watching him with a scowl. He looked so disturbed that she felt the need to ease his tension by her usual antics.

"What is this?" She lifted something from underneath the pillow, which just happened to be the new pair of glasses Shimon had bought yesterday after the last pair were shattered after his cousins had crashed in his room for the night.

Before he could stop her however, Mayura had already put them on and was walking around the room in circles.

"The whole world is a blurrrr..."

Shimon watched her silently as she giggled and put one foot after another like a child who has just learnt to walk. The blue eyed commander had had a very high number since he was a child and disliked wearing glasses because they got in his way. When introduced to lenses, he immediately took a liking to them and had worn them ever since. The days he was at home, he preferred the framed objects.

"Mayura," Shimon growled, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Put those down."

The blonde made a face at the boy and somehow managed to run out of the room without hitting the door. Well she did hit it, a little.

Laughing and running down the hall, Mayura had the feeling Shimon wouldn't be too far behind.

And he wasn't.

"Otomi Mayura,if you break that I will make you clean every hall in this house till I can see the ground clear as those glasses!"

The words of threat did nothing stop her however and she simply ran across the house, still somehow unaware that there was nobody but them in it.

Shimon chased the girl who could see a somewhat hazy figure in his place and just dodged, running back to the direction of his room. Something she seemed to have forgotten was that his room was at a higher level, which meant there was one tiny step at the door of his room.

And having not realised it, she missed it.

Mayura tripped and was about to fall straight on her face when Shimon burst in through the door and pulled her to him, which didn't do much help. She wasn't very light.

As Shimon's back made contact with his mattress, he couldn't have been happier that they didn't hit the tatami matts directly.

Ofcourse that was until Mayura fell right on top of him. She knocked the wind straight out of the boy who just remained coughing for a minute and a half with the girl apologizing again and again.

When Shimon finally did crack open his eyes, the situation seemed to have played right out of one of those cheesy movies his family liked to watch.

Mayura lay on top of him, her very large chest pushing into him and his hands wrapped around her slim waist.

And they were on his mattress.

He didn't understand if he felt dizzy due to the fall or the way his own body had heated up in response to her breath fanning his face.

Either way, he had the feeling he was going to lose his mind.

Mayura struggled to get off of him, but Shimon wouldn't let go, his hand still on her waist.

He was strong.

"Shimon.." she whispered, his name out of her mouth sounding like nectar to a bee.

And Shimon definitely felt like one, given the buzzing of all the nerves in his body.

Mayura's pink, soft lips were just centimeters away from his own and he had neither the self control nor the conscious desire to let her go.

Instead, he turned over, letting her back softly hit the bed and his hand caged her from both sides.

The girl looked around and gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat. They had been together for a good while now and it had begun to dawn on her that he had maintained his distance since the confession almost as if he was scared to touch her. And that was exactly what she had missed.

 **His touch.**

Shimon ran his fingers along the side of her frame, the small gasps leaving her mouth only encouraging him to move further. Mayura's toes were pushing into the bedsheet to keep her from kicking out.

Shimon wasn't oblivious to the entire process albeit not very well versed in it either, but he'd let his instincts get the better of him just this once.

One hand found its way to her head and pulling her hair back, he drifted down to her lips as she closed her eyes.

The contact was so soft that the blonde girl had begun to melt like cotton candy underneath him. Shimon pushed deeper, tasting her as she was, the sweetness wrapping around his own. He absorbed her very essence to his soul taking her luscious lips like a candy cane on Christmas.

Mayura moaned as his tongue traced the shape of her lips and he drank it into his own throat, the memory of it now captured by him.

The boy pulled away slightly, biting and softly nibbling on her lower lip, as Mayura opened her mouth to let out a gasp.

He captured her lips once more, leaving no room for doubts, given his brain had just flown out the window.

His fingers hadn't stopped their adventure and as they played with the hem of her shirt. Mayura arched her back, pushing her front against his firm chest, eliciting a groan from both of them.

He drank in the nervous shivering of her fingers that made their way to his shoulders and the soft quivering of her lips as they waited for his to resume their attack.

Every last bit of control the salmon haired boy was exercising vanished as he pushed her shirt up while his lips trailed kisses down her jaw to her neck fingers tracing her luscious curves

"Wait!"

He reached for her lips but Mayura slightly pushed him away.

"I'm not eighteen." The blonde whispered through her ragged breathing.

"You're not." Shimon answered matter-of-factly, clearly annoyed at the interruption. Could she make it any more embarassing than it already was?

"This is illegal."

"It is."

"..."

Shimon sighed, proping himself on one elbow beside her, just looking uninterested. The silence that ensued caused him to break it. There was no thinking for him anymore.

"Have you ever broken a rule?"

Mayura considered this question. She had always been an honor student, top of her class and had been class president every year of her life. Unlike her childhood friend, Mayura barely ever did anything that would cause her trouble so the answer was very certain.

"..No?"

Shimon hovered over the girl once again, his lips dangerously close to hers. Her eyes began to flutter shut as she breathed in his scent.

"Me neither."

War waged among the two, whose passion would cause a fire being the question to be answered.

Shimon's soft and sweet touch had turned more urgent, more needy. Mayura began to push Shimon's shirt upwards, her thin fingers trailing along his muscled torso that shivered under her touch. This only pushed Mayura more, eliciting a groan from the older boy.

Shimon who by now had lost all patience, pushed her shirt above her head, an endeavor Mayura assisted him in. His cold hands touched her bare stomach and he ran his tongue upwards. Every nerve on the girl's body was ignited, the feel of his tongue pushing her off the edge.

Mayura reached for the corners of the mattress, crumpling the sheets under the force of her grip. Shimon kissed all the way up from her belly button to the valley between her breasts.

And Mayura could no longer contain the moan she had been holding back out of embarrassment.

"Shimon.." she called out as her hands grabbed him for support, her nails digging into his shoulder blade, sending a shiver down his spine.

Shimon nearly ripped the shirt off of him, letting her eyes wander down his body. Well, this wasn't the first time she was seeing it.

Curious fingers roamed the span of his chest stopping at particular places and then sliding down some. The boy bit his lip to keep the growl from escaping.

All this time, all these years of her life Mayura had believed she would always face the brunt of falling in love with a boy which would always go only one way. He had never loved her nor would he be able to and for a while she had believed she was alright with that.

But she certainly wasn't.

Her pain remained hidden until Shimon came along, showing her that one crimson eyed boy wasn't the end of the world, that there were so many more beautiful things to see.

That he would be there.

A tear slipped down the side of her face and Shimon looked at her with wide eyes. He pulled away, his mouth open in shock.

"Mayura?"

The girl pushed off the bed reaching for Shimon as she slung her hands around his neck, her head resting on his strong shoulder.

"Just so you know, I love you."

Shimon raised an eyebrow at her sudden confession, but nevertheless wrapped his arms round her nude body.

"I know."

Mayura giggled, nuzzling his nose with her own.

"Here's where you say you love me too!"

"Telling you is no fun,"

The boy smiled, pushing her down once more, before gazing down at her with his lust filled eyes and whispering to her,

" Let me prove it to you."

A game of passion ensued, hands roaming, lips fighting, moans raging. Words were now history as their bodies responded to each other, like a flower to light. After the fraction of a minute, clothes were off as they fought for dominance, hands pushing, pulling, hanging on for dear life.

His fingers danced around her body slowly rubbing every part it could touch. He caressed her bare breast, earning a loud moan from the girl who had squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. His lips trailed along the creamy flesh as she shivered underneath him.

The cyan eyed man had begun to feel a little more confident and had taken the lead, letting his hands wander lower and lower, causing the girl to clench the sheets, her delicious scent filling the room.

The boy ran his fingers softly over the sensitive area, feeling her twitch beneath him. He pushed into her entrance sending a shiver up Mayura's spine as she reacted with a shuddering moan. Fingers moved slowly inwards, exploring her womanhood in its entirety, causing Mayura to whimper and bite her lip till it bled. Water filled her eyes and sweat dripped down her back as her body got accustomed to the sudden movements, slowly easing the pain.

Shimon bent over to lay a reassuring kiss on her lips, as if telling her it was okay to be afraid and that he wouldn't hurt her.

And Mayura believed him.

It was her first time feeling so open, so vulnerable, so naked. But her heart had already accepted him and now, she'd let her body do the same. Mayura's eyes rolled to the back of her head as he pushed into her, her walls squeezing his length. She cried out as it hit every nerve in her, causing her excruciating pain but leaving her with a thirst for more.

Shimon had been the same - gritting his teeth that he fathomed would probably turn to powder soon - panting heavily, his rigid muscles moulding their movements with him.

He looked down at the girl whose chest moved with every breath she took, her eyes so dark that he could barely see the irises anymore, most probably mirroring his own.

"Shimon.." she managed to say in her trembling voice, shaky fingers hanging onto his arm for support. She looked so beautiful; the sunlight highlighted her face, her hair resembling the colour of the Sun.

And it was true, she was his Sun.

He reached down to her, caressing her soft features as she put one hand over his. He softly kissed her closed eyelids.

"Are you ready?" He whispered near her ear.

She said nothing, just tightened her grip on him as he thrust into her, throwing her head back in pleasure, her breathing coming out in the form of small gasps.

It hurt, it hurt a lot. But it felt so good, Mayura could feel herself standing on the edge of paradise. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he groaned at the throbbing ache.

She couldn't have enough of this, of him. Of anything that was happening right now. How could somebody be so happy? She had no second thoughts, no doubts in her mind. If there was one person she'd give everything to, it would be him.

As they both reached the height of fulfilment, Shimon captured Mayura's lips, as she screamed out of satisfaction.

She still had tears at the corner of her eyes that Shimon wiped away softly, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, calming down as he watched her tense shoulders finally relax.

As he slumped beside her face down on the pillow, Mayura pulled the bed sheet over them, looking at his back rise and fall after their strenuous...exercise.

"You know," she said, smiling at him.

"I was thinking about dad."

Shimon groaned, turning around to look at her with tired eyes.

"That's one seriously unsexy thought you have there."

Mayura laughed, realising how terrible she had sounded.

"I mean, I can't wait to tell him about us! He likes you a lot."

Shimon buried his head in the comfort of Mayura's hair breathing in the strawverry shampoo and lulling himself to sleep.

And the only dream he had for the next few days were about the words Seigen had told him before they all left for the island.

"Keep Mayura away from the sharks."

Back then he had assumed "Shark" had been a metaphor for Rokuro, because of you know, _his teeth_ , but who knew he'd end up being the carnivorous beast.

But everytime he'd have any doubt, he'd turn to look at Mayura who's mouth would be slightly open, soft snores escaping them. Pushing a strand away from her face, he'd wrap his hand around her waist and walk back into dreamland with her leading the way.

 _Well, it sure as hell was worth it._

* * *

 _I hope it was good! Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to your reviews! Love y'all!_


	13. Chapter Eleven

Hey darlings! Now before I say anything else, I have an announcement to make.

I just recently crossed 11k reads! Yipeeee! Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you continue to enjoy it! Now then, let's get started!

* * *

 _Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,_

 _but to be fearless in facing them._

 _Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but_

 _for the heart to conquer it._

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Let the fight begin!**

" _ **I am you**_."

Benio stood paralysed, watching the..creature before her lick its lips which were curved into a terrifying grin, sending a wave of nausea up her body.

"What do you mean?"

"It" cocked its head to the left, pouting.

"I showed you, did I not ? " The monster raised its hand and Benio looked down at her own. The same gash was across both.

"How can such a lowly creature even be here ?"

To the azurette, the situation seemed near impossible.

Was she a magnet to impurities?

"A lowly creature, huh..." Myrtle irises boring deep into Benio's soul, she slowly edged closer, her footsteps reverberating abnormally, as if the current predicament wasn't frightening enough.

"You just keep proving how afraid you are of yourself."

This hit home alright.

"I'm not afraid anymore!" The child exclaimed in her defence. After all,she had overcome it all, hadn't she?

"Because of Rokuro I'm not scared anymore!"

The manic grin disappeared from its face to be replaced by a truly horrifying rage filled one.

The "thing" seemingly vanished, only to reappear behind the surprised azurette, who was too late to defend herself and went flying right across, crashing against an invisible wall.

The emerald eyed girl coughed up blood, the wind completely knocked out of her. She could hardly comprehend what was happening so soon in so less time.

"I almost feel sick talking to you," Her white locks danced behind her as her hips swayed with every step.

"You're so hopeless."

Benio hoisted herself off the floor, noticing the nervous shaking of her fingers. Spitting out the blood lining her mouth, she eyed her opponent in disgust.

"I could say the same."

Fists struck each other accompanied by furious kicking , one clearly stronger than the other. But Benio wouldn't back off for all her money, no amount of injuries nor trauma could stop her approaches.

Positioning herself away from "it", she pulled as much oxygen from the air as she could into her lungs, panting in exhaustion.

Looking at the amount of cuts she had managed to put on the creature, she proudly smiled.

Not that she herself was any better, but the dark haired maiden had realised her own disadvantages and built on them.

If every injury inflicted on herself would cause similar harm to her opponent, then she would let herself be beaten up equally badly.

 _But wouldn't that cause an endless loop?_

This is where she held a full house.

"I've done enough damage to you," she said, wiping the crimson liquid trickling down the side of her face in satisfaction.

"My Trump card should work now."

"It" cocked an eyebrow and folded its arms before the kuji-kiri branded on its chest.

"Oh?"

"I may get injured as much as you," Benio proceeded to explain through ragged breathing and a grin.

"But out there, my body will get corrupted by your impurity attacks and my familiar will heal me. Not you. "

Loud laughter resonated, suddenly coming to a sharp end. What was so funny? Hadn't she just clearly been defeated?

"How foolish you are, thinking you hold all the secrets in a one-on-one fight that has hardly even begun."

Now it was Benio's turn to watch in confusion.

"I had told you that you and I are one and the same, but there is a tiny bit of difference."

 _Yeah, you're an impurity and I'm an exorcist_ , Benio thought to herself.

"You see," it said, beginning to get dowsed in cyan flames emitting a strange florescence, almost appearing as if "it" had spontaneously combusted.

"The principle of exorcist healing techniques works by harnessing the particular person's spiritual powers, and giving it a boost."

As the last of the flames vanished, out "it" stepped, every cut, every bruise disappeared into nothingness.

 _How?_

"Right now, you are nothing but a foreigner invading your own mind. The only reason **I** haven't crushed your spirit is by choice."

She made a hand gesture imitating the squashing of a grape.

"Everytime your familiar heals you, I will get stronger. But he does it not because your body is being corrupted, but because he doesn't know of any method to save you."

Benio grit her teeth, perspiration covering her crinckled forehead.

"How?! Have you invaded my soul? Were you born from my dark thoughts and feelings? Are you the reason I lost my spiritual powers? " The teen yelled out in frustration.

"The only person you have to blame for losing your powers is yourself."

"It" scoffed, eyes cold as the air encapsulating them.

"I wasn't **born** from you. I am your last hope at regaining your powers."

The demonic entity traced the edges of the blade that appeared in its hands. A horrified expression of sudden realisation covered the girl's face.

 _ **"I am your spirit guardian."**_

* * *

Rokuro panted, having managed to avoid his opponents attacks for a good two hours. All he had done when the clock ticked from 72 hours, to now a little below 70, was dodge and run away from the fierce powers of the strongest exorcist, proving to himself just how far he was from his goal.

"You're a waste of a prophecy, you know."

He winced, feeling the bone in his shoulder crack after having taken one too many kicks. Even though the person in front of him looked about his age (give or take a few years), the extent of his powers seemed impossible to comprehend. For the time they had been here, it seemed to Rokuro as if he was just playing with him like a cat with a ball of wool.

The brunette was chasing the light at the end of the cave which was slowly moving further away.

Was there another way out?

"She'll die, you know."

Rokuro looked up at his older companion with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Somehow the "she" had registered in his brain as his companion who was running marathons in his mind and he hoped it was a mistake.

"She's...in danger?"

Tenma smirked, finding the easiest way to get a rise out of this boy was to hit the one weak point he had.

The woman he loved.

"What do you think?"

Rokuro bit his lower lip, pushing all the tire and pain aside. There was no way he'd give up when they had gotten so far.

They had sworn.

Rokuro charged, gathering balls of spiritual energy in the palm of his hands, throwing punches left, right and centre.

Tenma swiftly dodged, a signature smirk adorning his boyish good looks.

"Even after we worked so hard to separate the two of you. It would be a shame if she were to die."

Rokuro threw a kick to the left and faked a punch from the right, blocking any future moves from the older boy.

He had him!

Quickly, Rokuro pushed his fist towards the crimson haired boy's chest, aiming to knock the living crap out of the smart talking piece of crap.

And he quickly realised his folly.

Rokuro's fist made contact with the air as Tenma vanished from before him and in a flash, reappeared behind.

Rokuro spun, blocking the boy's attack, as if his body had subconsciously registered it.

"You're finally getting the hang of it."

 _It's time to begin teaching_.

Tenma kept throwing punches at the bloody faced teen, who blocked with all his might, somehow holding up against the beastly strength of the strongest exorcist there was.

Wherever Rokuro threw punches, Tenma vanished in a millisecond and reappeared just a centimeter away, almost as if he was moving at light speed.

Content with the boy's frustration, Tenma proceeded to explain.

"You would wonder why such a useful technique was never taught to you in school, wouldn't you?"

The brunette said nothing.

"There were mainly two reasons."

"The first being that this tactic was only useful in fights with basara, because of their human-like reflexes. Now wouldn't that be great? Everybody could at least escape Basara if they knew this technique!"

The fake excitement made Rokuro want to punch a hole in the wall. Or him.

Tenma held up two fingers.

"But then there's reason two. If this technique were to be used in a Basara fight, it would mean certain death for your average exorcist. Why, you ask?"

He paused dramatically, grinning.

"Because it would consume insane amounts of spiritual power, basically making you defenseless in any other way. All your equipment, all of the enchantments would be reduced to dust, which is why it was kept buried in the ancient scriptures."

Rokuro quirked his eyebrow. Why was he teaching it to him then?

"You have beastly amounts of spiritual power, which is how even during battles, you heal continuously from the inside."

The older boy didn't stop talking, even after reading his student's look of bewilderment.

Rokuro opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. What was he on about?

And why was he helping him in the first place?

"If you can harness that power, this technique will be a cakewalk."

While the boy stayed lost in his thoughts, Tenma pushed forward, using the technique he had just spoken about to confuse Rokuro.

"Time is running out, twerp. You don't have time to leisurely think."

The bruised teen scanned the timer.

 **60:00:00**

They had been here for 12 hours already, and it had borne no fruit. Was he going to keep rebelling against somebody who was clearly helping him, or would he just take the training with his mouth shut?

The odds were in his favor from both ends.

"How.." he murmured through his bleeding mouth.

"How do I do it?"

Tenma grinned, crossing his arms before his chest, creases appearing near his heterochromatic eyes.

He began to revolve around Rokuro, appearing- disappearing- reappearing as the teen tried to follow him with his eyes.

"Force your spiritual power to its lowest possible, and then in one second, squeeze it all out."

He clearly wasn't very good at explaining. And Rokuro being...well, Rokuro, all he did was stare dumbfoundedly.

Tenma rolled his eyes.

"Consider it somewhat similar to a tube of toothpaste. Roll everything to the complete bottom and then, with the one squeeze, push all the contents out."

This registered a bit.

The crimson prince pulled out his talisman and got more serious and Rokuro tried to implement the technique, but failed with every attempt, ending up breaking his jaw bone, his femur and dislocating a joint or two.

What was he to do?

"It's sad how you and the Adashino girl have regressed," he said, with a look of disgust.

"You're so dependent on her. But wasn't it you who left her in the first place? "

"Shut up..." A low growl escaped Rokuro's mouth.

"There's no need to drag her into this."

Somewhere in his conscience, he knew part of it was true. He had left her on her own, to live through all the troubles by herself and it kept eating away at him.

Had he escaped?

"You know it's true," Tenma probed further, increasing his ferocity with every attack. The bangs that covered the younger boys head now jumped to the side, revealing the cruel eyes of death.

"SHUT UP!"

 _ **Force to the lowest.**_

In that one millionth of a second, the world slowed down for Rokuro, even the very able man before him came to a standstill.

He charged towards Tenma.

 _ **Squeeze it out in one second.**_

When Rokuro looked around next, he had vanished and reappeared right in front of Tenma and he was so surprised, that he snapped out of his angry assault and stumbled backwards.

Grinning from ear to ear, Tenma eyed the clock.

 _ **48:00:00**_

"Stage One cleared."

* * *

Shimon walked up into the exorcist union behind his blond partner, who hadn't said a word since they had left the peaceful environment of his house after hid report on Narukami and the Tsuchimikado head's request to meet the Twin Star.

And he could understand why.

She was concerned both for her childhood friend and the currently vanished one. Just where had she disappeared off to?

The reckless teen she had known Rokuro to be would have probably made preparations to leave the island by dawn.

As they stood before the large door which had the words "Tsuchimikado Arima" inscribed on them , Mayura took a deep breath in.

She already had a bad feeling about everything that was about to happen, but she couldn't back down after mustering the courage to come here. She was stronger than before and she needed answers. Calming herself, she pushed on it lightly and it creaked open.

But the minute she would notice what awaited her inside, only more questions arose.

The plush office gave off the scent of sandalwood with an exquisite book case containing an eclectic mix of official documents, sacred texts, histories.

And on the mahogany desk to the far corner, sat a man, his silver hair blowing in the light breeze, amber eyes peering at them behind his thin rimmed glasses.

"Welcome, Shimon-kun, Mayura-kun,"

He sounded... terrifyingly sweet, so much so that the Suzaku boy had to hold back a shiver. A smile carved the edges of his face in a sadistic manner, giving him the appearance of a tiger ready to pounce.

And that analogy wasn't entirely incorrect.

"I was expecting the two of you."

But his words bounced right over their heads, when the duo saw what lay on a stretcher in the centre of the room.

Sunken cheeks, brown hair dishevelled, light bruising on parts of his body. He almost seemed weak, malnourished, **dying**.

And he was a face they recognized only too well.

 **"ROKURO!"**

* * *

Hope you liked it and I'm looking forward to your reviews! I love y'all!


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